March 8: The government has amended the Industrial Enterprises Act 2076 to make it easier for non-resident Nepali (NRNs) to invest in…
March 8: The government has amended the Industrial Enterprises Act 2076 to make it easier for non-resident Nepali (NRNs) to invest in…
March 8: Economic experts and knowledgeable persons have stressed that expansion of opportunities and potential is only possible in a liberal economy. …
March 8: In the last one week, the price of seasonal vegetables has increased by 135 percent.…
March 8: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has urged the electricity users not to install street lights on their own without its…
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' on Tuesday inaugurated Solukhola Dudhkoshi Hydropower Project, which is the largest hydropower project developed by private sector so far in the…
March 7: Labourers are still unable to go to Japan and Mauritius despite the government signing labour agreements four years ago.…
A writ petition against the Prime Minister and CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' was registered in the Supreme Court on…
The demand for ‘slate stone’ available in Bheri Municipality’s Mahtara village and Junichande Rural Municipality has increased in big cities of…
March 7: Commercial banks are facing difficulty to provide loans to priority sector as specified by Nepal Rastra Bank…
March 7: Two female pilots of Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) operated an international flight for the first time in history of the state-owned airlines…
March 7: Seven years have elapsed since the local sugarcane farmers of Kapilvastu have waged a struggle to recover their dues from the defaulting sugar…
March 7: The customers of Tulsipur-based Shiva Shikar Multi-Purpose Cooperatives have been badly affected after the cooperative closed its…
A honey Processing Industry has come into operation at Shivsatakshi Municipality, Jhapa. Female bee keepers have set up the honey processing plant for the first time in the…
March 6: Holi, the festival of colours, has started to be celebrated in a more decent way in recent…
…
Notice (8): Undefined variable: file [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60]Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/indexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17208', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Facilitate Investment for NRNs', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 8: The government has amended the Industrial Enterprises Act 2076 to make it easier for non-resident Nepali (NRNs) to invest in Nepal.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 8: The government has amended the Industrial Enterprises Act 2076 to make it easier for non-resident Nepali (NRNs) to invest in Nepal. As per the new provision, the investment company itself can approve the investment in the name of the investor.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NRNs are willing to invest in Nepal and have been demanding legal and procedural reforms for that. In the budget statement of the current fiscal year, the government mentioned that 'foreign investment laws and procedures will be improved to attract foreign investment in manufacturing and export industries and bring in investment'.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Baburam Gautam, joint secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, informed that the conditions for the establishment of companies have been revised to attract and promote the investment of NRNs. According to him, the monitoring of such a company and the monitoring of investors' investment were not clear previously.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Gautam said, “Now, arrangements have been made for the Department of Industry to monitor the investment.” After establishing the investment company under the previous arrangement, the investor had to come and complete other procedures from industry registration. After the amendment, foreign investment will be accepted even if the investor is not present in person.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The company itself will be able to approve the foreign investment in the name of the investor with the documents of the investors in the 'Investment Company' which will be established as a joint investment between the Government of Nepal and NRNs. In the case of other investment companies, there is a provision that the approval of such foreign investment should be obtained from the government body responsible for industry registration.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Foreign investment and technology transfer rules and regulations of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) must be followed when foreign investment is brought in and sent out. However, in the case of a joint company of Nepalese government and NRNs, the government has made a separate decision. Similarly, when NRNs invest in Nepal, the limit that they can invest in a project should not be less than Rs 10 million. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The minimum investment of the investment companies, except those established as the joint investment of the government and NRNs, should be Rs 1 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government arranged that such companies can only invest in the form of share capital in Nepal and cannot invest through loans, credit facilities, bonds and debentures. Joint investment companies with the government will be allowed to invest in bonds and debentures of infrastructure projects.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-08', 'modified' => '2023-03-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16946', 'image' => '20230308021916_Foreign investment.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-08 14:18:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17207', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '‘Free Trade Creates Opportunities Itself’', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 8: Economic experts and knowledgeable persons have stressed that expansion of opportunities and potential is only possible in a liberal economy. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 8: Economic experts and knowledgeable persons have stressed that expansion of opportunities and potential is only possible in a liberal economy. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Speaking at an international conference hosted by the Kathmandu University School of Management (KUSOM) on Tuesday, the experts said there is no alternative to free trade since hundred percent self-sufficiency is impossible in the present-day world. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">They underlined the need to devise proper policy by identifying the reasons behind the country sliding into import-oriented economy despite two decades since Nepal joined the World Trade Organization. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chairperson of South Asia Board Academy of International Business under the Indian Institute of Management Academy, Prof Dr Raghunath Supbramanyam said free trade creates opportunities itself. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"It provides opportunities in developing competitive capacity and technological usage," he said, adding Nepal should lay emphasis on spurring production based on its local resources. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Any country has its certain brand. Nepal can identify competitive and own resource-based goods and services in the global market. Improvement in the trade system coupled with the use of information technology could help reap these benefits," he suggested. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Former Commerce Secretary of Indian government, Dr Anup Wadhawan said the less regulation and liberal laws in trade the more benefits the economy would yield. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Adopting free trade by any country means cashing in on the advantages of developed and competitive economy to propel prosperity," he argued. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As total self-sufficiency was not possible in the present day, those aspiring for creativity in trade has no option to free trade, he noted. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Kathmandu University (KU) Vice-Chancellor Bhola Thapa said Nepal has been continuously deceived in the area of trade and the country's rising trade deficit was alarming. The trade policies Nepal has adopted so far have not been fairly successful in enhancing production and exploring market opportunities, he said, expressing the confidence that the conference would achieve success in reviewing policy failures and identifying proper policy choices. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KU Professor Achyut Wagle said Nepal's 85 percent trade was merely being done with two neighbours, India and China, so the Himalayan nation should lay emphasis on diversifying its trade. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal is weak not only in the export of goods but also of services, he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The international conference on free trade, economic development and economic sustainability would continue until Wednesday. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-08', 'modified' => '2023-03-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16945', 'image' => '20230308124237_free trde.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-08 12:41:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17206', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Price of Vegetables up by 135 Percent in a Week', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 8: In the last one week, the price of seasonal vegetables has increased by 135 percent. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 8: In the last one week, the price of seasonal vegetables has increased by 135 percent. According to the Kalimati Fruit and Vegetable Market Development Committee, the prices of seasonal vegetables such as cauliflower, tomatoes, carrot, broad beans, brinjal among others have increased as the season of winter crops is over.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The average wholesale price of local cauliflower, which was Rs 17 per kg last week, has reached Rs 40 per kg on Tuesday. This is an increase of 135 percent. The price of carrot from the Terai, which was Rs 17 per kg, has increased by 35 percent. The price of local tomatoes has increased by 29 percent. Similarly, the price of broad beans has increased by 46 percent, broccoli by 60 percent, bitter melon by 88 percent and red radish by 68 percent.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Binay Shrestha, information officer of the committee, said that the price may have increased because the season of winter crop is over. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"This cannot be considered as sudden price hike. However, the price is higher than the normal times," he told New Business Age, adding, "On the one hand, the season of winter crop has ended, and on the other hand, the vegetables planted by the farmers for the summer season have not started yielding." </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Now it is the season of party and feasting time and the demand for vegetables such as cauliflower, cabbage, carrot, and radish is high, which may have increased the price, according to Shrestha.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Sometime ago, the farmers of Chitwan staged a protest by throwing vegetables on the street saying that they were not getting a fair price for their produce. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Geeta Prasad Acharya, president of the Kalimati Vegetable Market Traders Committee, says that it is clear how weak our market system is with the start of the 'off-season' within a few weeks.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The records of the committee show that 800 to 900 tons of vegetables are imported to Kalimati on a normal day, but now only 600 to 700 tons of vegetables are arriving on a daily basis.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">After the price increase in the wholesale market, its impact has reached the retail market. There is also a huge difference in the prices in the wholesale and retail markets. It has been found that vegetables are being sold in the retail market at a price higher than the price in the wholesale market of Kalimati by Rs 30 to Rs 40 per kg.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Consumers are complaining that the retailers are arbitrarily charging the price because the price has increased in the wholesale market.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> Suman Maharjan, who came to Kirtipur's vegetable market to buy vegetables, said that traders are selling vegetables at a higher price because of the increase in prices in the wholesale market. He also said that the price varies from shop to shop.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-08', 'modified' => '2023-03-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16944', 'image' => '20230308112459_1678235711.Clipboard21.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-08 11:24:23', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17205', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEA Urges Users not to Install Street Lights on their Own ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 8: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has urged the electricity users not to install street lights on their own without its consent. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 8: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has urged the electricity users not to install street lights on their own without its consent. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Issuing a public notice on Tuesday, NEA has urged the users to immediately install meter for measuring power supply for the street lights. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Noting that street light has a big share of electricity tariff dues, NEA issued a directive to the concerned groups to clear the payment without any delay. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"NEA has to face a huge loss in the absence of measurement of power consumption in street lamps and clearance of dues. The authority calls for the concerned people to clear the dues. Please do not install street lamps from direct electricity line without the consent of the NEA," reads the notice. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-08', 'modified' => '2023-03-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16943', 'image' => '20230308110426_Smart-lights-in-Kathmandu-and-Lalitpur - Copy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-08 11:03:25', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17204', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'PM Inaugurates Largest Hydropower Project Developed by Private Sector ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' on Tuesday inaugurated Solukhola Dudhkoshi Hydropower Project, which is the largest hydropower project developed by private sector so far in the country. ', 'content' => '<p><br /> <span style="font-size:18px">March 8: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' on Tuesday inaugurated Solukhola Dudhkoshi Hydropower Project, which is the largest hydropower project developed by private sector so far in the country. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Constructed at Solu Dudhkunda Municipality and Thulung Dudhkoshi Rural Municipality of Solukhumbu district, Solukhola Dudhskoshi Hydropower with installed capacity of 86 megawatt is the third largest hydropower project in the country. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The Run-of-the-river type project was estimate to cost Rs 11.86 billion initially. But, the cost increased to Rs 14 billion due to COVID-19, technical glitches, construction materials’ price rise, among others. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Promoted by Sahas Urja Limited, the hydropower generates 520.20 gigawatt power annually. The hydropower produces 100.27 gigawatt power in dry season and 419.93 gigawatt power in rainy season. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Inaugurating the hydropower project, PM Dahal said that successful development of the project had encouraged others involved in the hydropower sector. Dahal stated that recently held joint meeting of the energy secretaries from Nepal and India paved ways for Nepal's energy export and added that export of power was an appropriate means to reduce the country's trade deficit. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The PM also pledged to collaborate with the private sector and resolve the challenges for the development and expansion of energy sector, which he termed is a better option for economic development and trade deficit reduction.</span><br /> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Recalling that he had announced to begin mega and strategically important hydro projects in the country during his first prime ministerial stint, PM Prachanda argued that the projects have gradually advanced and would fulfill the country's development aspirations. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">During his speech, the PM recalled that power outage had ended in the country practically and technically when he became the prime minister for the second time after Kulman Ghising was appointed as Executive Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The PM Dahal said that appropriate time had come to make a leap in green hydrogen, thanks to the development in the energy sector. Stating that the developed countries had qualitatively increased the usage of hydrogen energy, Prachanda said Nepal too will move towards that end. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Sharing that he was suggested by Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Executive Director Kulman Ghising to ride a hydrogen-powered vehicle, PM informed that he was preparing for the same. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Independent Power Producers’ Association Chairman Krishna Prasad Acharya asked the government to protect private sector involved in hydropower development. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">“Since hydropower projects will have to be transferred to the government after fixed time period, the government has to see hydropower entrepreneurs differently,” Acharya said. He also drew the government’s attention to increase power consumption. Solukhola Dudhkoshi Hydropower Project’s Chairman Him Prasad Pathak held that use of water resource was the basis of Nepal’s prosperity. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The hydropower project will contribute 0.10 per cent power to the total national power production annually, according to hydropower project’s Managing Director Sushil Thapa. Electricity from the hydropower was connected to the national grid a month ago. </span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-08', 'modified' => '2023-03-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16942', 'image' => '20230308082150_collage (18).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-08 08:16:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17203', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Aspiring Migrant Workers Unable to go to Japan and Mauritius Despite having Labour Pacts', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 7: Labourers are still unable to go to Japan and Mauritius despite the government signing labour agreements four years ago. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 7: Labourers are still unable to go to Japan and Mauritius despite the government signing labour agreements four years ago. The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security has stated that a large number of young people are coming to inquire as to when they will be able to go to those countries.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Japan and Mauritius are some of the best-preferred destinations of Nepalese migrant workers. Many people expect a good salary if they get a job in these countries. The Ministry of Labor has been saying that although there is a labour agreement, the matter of supplying labour to those countries has not been finalized as technical issues are being discussed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"Even though there is a labour agreement, it seems that some issues need to be discussed and consulted. We are making a procedure to send workers to countries with whom there is a labour agreement," said an official of the ministry.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A labour agreement was signed between Nepal and Japan four years ago regarding labour supply. According to government data, more than 8,000 Nepalis will be allowed to go to Japan for work and study annually. It is estimated by the government that more than 70,000 Nepalese are currently employed in Japan.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Likewise, a government-level labour agreement was signed between the government of Mauritius and the government of Nepal also four years ago. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to government data, the number of Nepalese who reach Mauritius via India in search of employment is more than 5,000 every year. The government has signed a labour agreement with Mauritius to send more than 7,000 workers annually.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Most of the workers go to the Gulf countries and Malaysia because they cannot go to good countries in terms of service and facilities. Due to the lack of employment opportunities in the country, there is no alternative to foreign employment. Even though experts suggest that foreign employment and remittances can dry up at any time, the government has not been able to work to create jobs in the country.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-07', 'modified' => '2023-03-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16941', 'image' => '20230307053818_20230307024450_foreign emp.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-07 17:37:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17202', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Writ Petition Registered Against PM Dahal at Apex Court ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'A writ petition against the Prime Minister and CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' was registered in the Supreme Court on Tuesday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">March 7: A writ petition against the Prime Minister and CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' was registered in the Supreme Court on Tuesday.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"> Fourteen persons, including Gyanendra Raj Aran of Ramechhap have filed the writ naming the Maoist Centre Chair Dahal as the defendant. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The writ has been filed over the remarks Dahal made a few years ago, saying that he would take responsibility for the deaths of 5,000 people killed during the armed conflict waged by then CPN-Maoist Party for ten years. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The Supreme Court has fixed Thursday (March 9) as the date of hearing in the writ petition. </span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-07', 'modified' => '2023-03-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16940', 'image' => '20230307050606_collage - 2023-03-07T170019.119.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-07 17:01:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17201', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Demand For Slate Stone Surges ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The demand for ‘slate stone’ available in Bheri Municipality’s Mahtara village and Junichande Rural Municipality has increased in big cities of late. ', 'content' => '<p><br /> <span style="font-size:18px">March 7: The demand for ‘slate stone’ available in Bheri Municipality’s Mahtara village and Junichande Rural Municipality has increased in big cities of late. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Slate stones are collected and processed at Jajarkot Stone Suppliers and Cutting Center located at Bhurchaur of Bheri Municiaplity-10 and sent to other places through the center. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Slate stones processed at the center don’t change their colour nor do they fade away. The processed stones look natural and attractive. Thus, they are increasingly used in house construction, said center’ proprietor Mahendra Shahi. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Slates stones are becoming an alternative to imported marbles and tiles lately. Stones are being used for decorations in modern house. They are also being used in temple, and trekking routes.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Slate is mostly supplied to Nepalgunj and Surkhet. But, stales are reaching Pokhara, Kathmandu, Chitwan, Butwal, Dang, Biratnagar, Nepalgunj and other cities as well, said proprietor Shahi. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">“We are having a hard time meeting the high demand,” said owner Mahendra Shahi. He said that he was selling 25 trucks of slates in a year. </span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-07', 'modified' => '2023-03-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16939', 'image' => '20230307033527_collage - 2023-03-07T152953.924.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-07 15:28:57', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17199', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Banks Struggling to Increase Credit Flow to Priority Sector', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 7: Commercial banks are facing difficulty to provide loans to priority sector as specified by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 7: Commercial banks are facing difficulty to provide loans to priority sector as specified by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB). The priority sector lending includes agriculture, hydroelectricity and micro, domestic, small and medium enterprises. Although NRB instructed the commercial banks to invest 40 percent of the total loans in the specified areas by June 2026, the banks’ investment in these sectors have reached just 28.88 percent as of mid-January of the current fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NRB instructed the commercial banks to invest 15 percent each in agriculture as well as domestic, small and medium enterprises and 10 percent in hydropower by June 2026. According to the instructions, banks should invest 11 percent in agriculture and domestic, small and medium enterprises by the end of June 2023, 13 percent by June 2024, 14 percent by June 2025 and 15 percent by June 2026. In the case of hydropower, 6 percent must be invested by June 2023, 7 percent by June 2024, 8 percent by June 2025 and 10 percent by June 2026.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Among the priority sectors, the investment of banks in agriculture is more than specified, but the condition of investment in domestic, small and medium enterprises is rather weak. According to NRB, commercial banks have invested 13.09 percent of the total loans in agriculture by mid-January 2023. Agriculture Development Bank has invested 28.35 percent in the agriculture sector. Other banks have invested 11 to 19.95 percent of the total loans in this sector.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Banks have invested 6.29 percent in the hydropower sector till mid-January 2023. In hydropower, Sanima Bank has the highest investment of 9.96 percent and NIC Asia has the lowest investment of only 1.47 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The weakest investment of banks is in micro, domestic, small and medium enterprises. Commercial banks should invest 11 percent in this sector by next June, but they have invested only 9.51 percent as of mid-January 2023.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Former President of Nepal Bankers Association, Bhuvan Kumar Dahal says that even if banks invest in agriculture and hydropower as directed by NRB, it will be difficult for them to invest in small and medium enterprises. He suggested that instead of forcing big banks to invest in micro, domestic, small and medium enterprises, it would be appropriate to make them do it through microfinance, development banks and finance companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As the banks were unable to invest as specified, NRB pushed the deadline by 1 year last year. NRB revised the integrated directive last winter and moved the deadline for investment in priority areas from the end of June 2025 to the end of June 2026.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NRB spokesperson Dr. Gunakar Bhatta says that due to the Covid-19 pandemic and lack of liquidity, banks could not expand their credit, so the deadline for credit investment in priority areas has been postponed by one year. According to him, the banks that do not invest within the specified time will have to pay fines according to the rules.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Section 81 of Nepal Rastra Bank Act, 2058, if the loan is not disbursed within the specified period or if the disbursement is less than the minimum amount, there is a provision to penalize the banks.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-07', 'modified' => '2023-03-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16937', 'image' => '20230307023011_Banks - Copy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-07 14:28:45', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17197', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'All-Woman Pilots Conduct First Int’l Flight in History of NAC', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 7: Two female pilots of Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) operated an international flight for the first time in history of the state-owned airlines company.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 7: Two female pilots of Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) operated an international flight for the first time in history of the state-owned airlines company. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">NAC’s Spokesperson Archana Khadka told New Business Age that Captain Bhawana Pant and Co-pilot Sriana Raut conducted the flight from Kathmandu to Dubai on Saturday night. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“This is the first time in the history of Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) that two female pilots have flown an international flight. We have previous record of female pilots conducting domestic flights but this is the first international flight and a new record,” Khadka shared.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Captain Pant commanded an Airbus A-320 aircraft from Kathmandu to Dubai at 11 pm on Saturday night. They will return on Wednesday on the occasion of the International Women’s Day.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Captain Pant has been associated with Nepal's aviation sector for the past 25 years. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The NAC has four female pilots who operate narrow-body aircraft and one female pilot capable of flying a wide-body aircraft.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-07', 'modified' => '2023-03-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16936', 'image' => '20230307115003_334607839_627698252224640_1990973481596409263_n.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-07 11:49:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17198', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Sugarcane Farmers Submit Memo to Government ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 7: Seven years have elapsed since the local sugarcane farmers of Kapilvastu have waged a struggle to recover their dues from the defaulting sugar mills.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 7: Seven years have elapsed since the local sugarcane farmers of Kapilvastu have waged a struggle to recover their dues from the defaulting sugar mills. During this period, farmers have repeatedly submitted memorandum and staged protests to put pressure on the government to address their demands. However, their demand have not been addressed as of today. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On Monday, the agitating farmers handed over a memorandum to the government through the Area Administration Office Chandrauta demanding payment of the due amount.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The farmers said that they put forth the demand after the sugar mills failed to make the payment as per the decision of the government in the fiscal year 2071/72. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government fixes the sugarcane price every year but the local businesspersons do not pay price to the farmers, said Kapilvastu Farmers Association’s Chairperson Anup Kumar Chaudhary, urging the government to pay attention to this situation. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In the memorandum, the farmers have included 10 separate demands, including arrangement of irrigation, waiver in customs duty for the purchase of tractors and establishment of sugar mill. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-07', 'modified' => '2023-03-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16935', 'image' => '20230307123524_sugarcane.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-07 12:34:38', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17196', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Depositors in Trouble after Cooperative Shuts its Services ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 7: The customers of Tulsipur-based Shiva Shikar Multi-Purpose Cooperatives have been badly affected after the cooperative closed its services. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 7: The customers of Tulsipur-based Shiva Shikar Multi-Purpose Cooperatives have been badly affected after the cooperative closed its services. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">With the closure of the cooperatives for a month, the depositors are forced to return empty handed. Tulsi Nepali, a fruit trader from BP Chowk, who had deposited Rs 127,000 in the cooperative, is now regretting over the decision to save his money. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"It has been almost a month. Although employees of the cooperative say they will open the office, they have not. It has been difficult to pay the loan," he shared his plight. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, Chandra Kali BK is another customer to deposit Rs 60,000 in the Shiva Shikar Cooperatives. She visited the office many times to withdraw her money, but in vain. "Nobody is present in the office. When they are contacted over phone, they say they will pay by coming July," she explained. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">She had planned to undergo medication with the saving, but now it is not certain when she will get her money back from the cooperative. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, Ashok Bhandari, who runs a fancy clothes shop in Tulsipur, informed that he had also deposited some amount of money in the cooperative. He reached the cooperative office many times, but returned empty handed.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Although it was a small amount (Rs 6,000), I had to toil for earning it. Now, I'm facing monetary problems," he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to him, the cooperative runs a mart, but the mart is not willing to adjust the purchase he made from his savings.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The cooperative had issued a notice on February 10 that it would close its services until another notice on the pretext that it was unable to pay back the depositors due to economic recession. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-07', 'modified' => '2023-03-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16934', 'image' => '20230307105235_cooperative problematic.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-07 10:51:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17195', 'article_category_id' => '277', 'title' => 'Honey Processing Industry Come into Operation ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' A honey Processing Industry has come into operation at Shivsatakshi Municipality, Jhapa. Female bee keepers have set up the honey processing plant for the first time in the district.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">March 7: A honey Processing Industry has come into operation at Shivsatakshi Municipality, Jhapa. Female bee keepers have set up the honey processing plant for the first time in the district.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Satashi Women Bee Keeping Association, Sahara Nepal and Hokse Agriculture Cooperative have jointly established Sahara Satakshi Women Bee Honey Industry at the cost of Rs 12.5 million, according to industry’s Coordinator Devi Kumari Oli Dahal.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Coordinator Dahal informed that the plant was processing more than 10,000 metric tons of honey in a year. A farming is being done for the commercial production of the honey in Satakshi Municipality. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Since honey is being processed with modern machine, we don’t have the problem for its marketing, said farmer Dhanmaya Pathak. Seven females are employed at the plant in the first phase. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Locals of Shivsatakshi-11 have kept beehives ranging from 10 to 250 on average as ward No 11 has been declared bee keeping block area. More than 300 women have been doing bee keeping commercially and have been producing more than 60 tons of honey at Shivsatakshi-11 annually. </span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-07', 'modified' => '2023-03-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16933', 'image' => '20230307065100_collage (17).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-07 06:42:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17194', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Holi Gradually Taking Decent Colour ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 6: Holi, the festival of colours, has started to be celebrated in a more decent way in recent years.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 6: Holi, the festival of colours, has started to be celebrated in a more decent way in recent years. Until some years back, young women would stop venturing out in the streets of Kathmandu nearly a week before the festival as they were often the targets of some unruly youths hurling balloons filled with coloured water. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Unsuspecting women walking on the street were hurled with water from roof tops. Some rowdy revelers even went to the extent of smearing colours on the faces of other people against their will. Reports of pedestrians being thrown dirty water, being smeared with black paint etc were also frequent. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It was unsafe for them to go out during the festival. The women who went out for some urgent work used to come home drenched. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">But this uncivilized trend is becoming a thing of the past. But still there are some people who resort to these kinds of aberrant practices in the name of celebrating the festival of colours. Nepal Police have said such elements would be brought to book. Police said so far they have not received any complaint of people throwing water or water-filled balloons and smearing colour powder on anyone against their will. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">However, groups of people especially youths, could be seen celebrating the festival amongst their friends and families in decent way. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">This year the festival is observed in the hill and mountainous districts today while it will be celebrated in the Tarai-Madhes districts tomorrow. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Basantapur sees festivity since morning </span></strong><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">People had gathered at Basantapur Durbar Square in Kathmandu since today morning for the traditional Holi celebrations. A ritualistic wooden pole with tufts of colourful strips of cloths known as 'chir' on its top end that was installed in the Basantapur Durbar Square a week back heralding the start of the Phagu (Holi) festival is to be pulled down tonight. It is taken to Tundikhel amidst the playing of folk musical instruments and burnt. The ashes of the 'chir' are considered as talisman and people scramble for getting hold of the ashes. They put tika mark of this ash on their forehead in the belief that it drives away evil and protects from bad omen. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">27K security personnel mobilised </span></strong><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal Police has said 27,000 police personnel have been mobilised throughout the country for maintaining law and order during the Holi festival this year. This number is apart from those personnel mobilised for regular peace keeping, said Deputy Inspector General Poshraj Pokharel, the spokesman for the Nepal Police. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to him, no untoward incidents have been reported in course of the festival throughout the country so far today. Security has been beefed up in the big cities across the country, including Kathmandu. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Police are conducting checking at more than 66 places, apart from the places of regular security checks, in the federal capital. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-06', 'modified' => '2023-03-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16932', 'image' => '20230306065344_1678092822.332510066_1600877007053479_2283640620397237771_n.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-06 18:52:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17193', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Rural Electrification Campaign Gathers Momentum in Tanahun', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => '', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">March 6: The rural electrification campaign has gathered momentum in different places of Tanahun district where the substations for power supply are being constructed. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The substations are being built with support from the Tanahun hydropower project for the electrification drive. Managing Director of Tanahun hydropower project Kiran Kumar Shrestha said the construction of substations has been completed in Ghiring Rural Municipality-4 and Bandipur Rural Municipality-6.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">After the construction of the substations, power supply is ensured in Bhimad Municipality, Ghiring Rural Municipality and Rising Rural Municipality in Tanahun, and some parts of Nawalparasi (Bardaghat Susta Purba).</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">With the completion of substations, the officials claimed that reliable and quality power supply is guaranteed to the consumers. Managing Director Shrestha shared that the entire job of rural electrification would be completed in the upcoming fiscal year.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Nepal Electricity Authority Authority (NEA) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have funded the construction of Tanahun Hydropower project.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The Tanahun rural electrification and distribution system strengthening project had signed a contract with the East India Industry and Waiba Infratech JV for the rural electrification purpose. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"> </span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-06', 'modified' => '2023-03-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16931', 'image' => '20230306063753_collage (16).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-06 18:34:44', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Warning (2): simplexml_load_file() [<a href='http://php.net/function.simplexml-load-file'>function.simplexml-load-file</a>]: I/O warning : failed to load external entity "" [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60]file not found!Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/indexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17208', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Facilitate Investment for NRNs', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 8: The government has amended the Industrial Enterprises Act 2076 to make it easier for non-resident Nepali (NRNs) to invest in Nepal.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 8: The government has amended the Industrial Enterprises Act 2076 to make it easier for non-resident Nepali (NRNs) to invest in Nepal. As per the new provision, the investment company itself can approve the investment in the name of the investor.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NRNs are willing to invest in Nepal and have been demanding legal and procedural reforms for that. In the budget statement of the current fiscal year, the government mentioned that 'foreign investment laws and procedures will be improved to attract foreign investment in manufacturing and export industries and bring in investment'.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Baburam Gautam, joint secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, informed that the conditions for the establishment of companies have been revised to attract and promote the investment of NRNs. According to him, the monitoring of such a company and the monitoring of investors' investment were not clear previously.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Gautam said, “Now, arrangements have been made for the Department of Industry to monitor the investment.” After establishing the investment company under the previous arrangement, the investor had to come and complete other procedures from industry registration. After the amendment, foreign investment will be accepted even if the investor is not present in person.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The company itself will be able to approve the foreign investment in the name of the investor with the documents of the investors in the 'Investment Company' which will be established as a joint investment between the Government of Nepal and NRNs. In the case of other investment companies, there is a provision that the approval of such foreign investment should be obtained from the government body responsible for industry registration.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Foreign investment and technology transfer rules and regulations of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) must be followed when foreign investment is brought in and sent out. However, in the case of a joint company of Nepalese government and NRNs, the government has made a separate decision. Similarly, when NRNs invest in Nepal, the limit that they can invest in a project should not be less than Rs 10 million. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The minimum investment of the investment companies, except those established as the joint investment of the government and NRNs, should be Rs 1 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government arranged that such companies can only invest in the form of share capital in Nepal and cannot invest through loans, credit facilities, bonds and debentures. Joint investment companies with the government will be allowed to invest in bonds and debentures of infrastructure projects.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-08', 'modified' => '2023-03-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16946', 'image' => '20230308021916_Foreign investment.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-08 14:18:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17207', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '‘Free Trade Creates Opportunities Itself’', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 8: Economic experts and knowledgeable persons have stressed that expansion of opportunities and potential is only possible in a liberal economy. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 8: Economic experts and knowledgeable persons have stressed that expansion of opportunities and potential is only possible in a liberal economy. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Speaking at an international conference hosted by the Kathmandu University School of Management (KUSOM) on Tuesday, the experts said there is no alternative to free trade since hundred percent self-sufficiency is impossible in the present-day world. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">They underlined the need to devise proper policy by identifying the reasons behind the country sliding into import-oriented economy despite two decades since Nepal joined the World Trade Organization. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chairperson of South Asia Board Academy of International Business under the Indian Institute of Management Academy, Prof Dr Raghunath Supbramanyam said free trade creates opportunities itself. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"It provides opportunities in developing competitive capacity and technological usage," he said, adding Nepal should lay emphasis on spurring production based on its local resources. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Any country has its certain brand. Nepal can identify competitive and own resource-based goods and services in the global market. Improvement in the trade system coupled with the use of information technology could help reap these benefits," he suggested. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Former Commerce Secretary of Indian government, Dr Anup Wadhawan said the less regulation and liberal laws in trade the more benefits the economy would yield. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Adopting free trade by any country means cashing in on the advantages of developed and competitive economy to propel prosperity," he argued. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As total self-sufficiency was not possible in the present day, those aspiring for creativity in trade has no option to free trade, he noted. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Kathmandu University (KU) Vice-Chancellor Bhola Thapa said Nepal has been continuously deceived in the area of trade and the country's rising trade deficit was alarming. The trade policies Nepal has adopted so far have not been fairly successful in enhancing production and exploring market opportunities, he said, expressing the confidence that the conference would achieve success in reviewing policy failures and identifying proper policy choices. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KU Professor Achyut Wagle said Nepal's 85 percent trade was merely being done with two neighbours, India and China, so the Himalayan nation should lay emphasis on diversifying its trade. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal is weak not only in the export of goods but also of services, he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The international conference on free trade, economic development and economic sustainability would continue until Wednesday. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-08', 'modified' => '2023-03-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16945', 'image' => '20230308124237_free trde.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-08 12:41:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17206', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Price of Vegetables up by 135 Percent in a Week', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 8: In the last one week, the price of seasonal vegetables has increased by 135 percent. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 8: In the last one week, the price of seasonal vegetables has increased by 135 percent. According to the Kalimati Fruit and Vegetable Market Development Committee, the prices of seasonal vegetables such as cauliflower, tomatoes, carrot, broad beans, brinjal among others have increased as the season of winter crops is over.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The average wholesale price of local cauliflower, which was Rs 17 per kg last week, has reached Rs 40 per kg on Tuesday. This is an increase of 135 percent. The price of carrot from the Terai, which was Rs 17 per kg, has increased by 35 percent. The price of local tomatoes has increased by 29 percent. Similarly, the price of broad beans has increased by 46 percent, broccoli by 60 percent, bitter melon by 88 percent and red radish by 68 percent.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Binay Shrestha, information officer of the committee, said that the price may have increased because the season of winter crop is over. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"This cannot be considered as sudden price hike. However, the price is higher than the normal times," he told New Business Age, adding, "On the one hand, the season of winter crop has ended, and on the other hand, the vegetables planted by the farmers for the summer season have not started yielding." </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Now it is the season of party and feasting time and the demand for vegetables such as cauliflower, cabbage, carrot, and radish is high, which may have increased the price, according to Shrestha.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Sometime ago, the farmers of Chitwan staged a protest by throwing vegetables on the street saying that they were not getting a fair price for their produce. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Geeta Prasad Acharya, president of the Kalimati Vegetable Market Traders Committee, says that it is clear how weak our market system is with the start of the 'off-season' within a few weeks.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The records of the committee show that 800 to 900 tons of vegetables are imported to Kalimati on a normal day, but now only 600 to 700 tons of vegetables are arriving on a daily basis.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">After the price increase in the wholesale market, its impact has reached the retail market. There is also a huge difference in the prices in the wholesale and retail markets. It has been found that vegetables are being sold in the retail market at a price higher than the price in the wholesale market of Kalimati by Rs 30 to Rs 40 per kg.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Consumers are complaining that the retailers are arbitrarily charging the price because the price has increased in the wholesale market.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> Suman Maharjan, who came to Kirtipur's vegetable market to buy vegetables, said that traders are selling vegetables at a higher price because of the increase in prices in the wholesale market. He also said that the price varies from shop to shop.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-08', 'modified' => '2023-03-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16944', 'image' => '20230308112459_1678235711.Clipboard21.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-08 11:24:23', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17205', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEA Urges Users not to Install Street Lights on their Own ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 8: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has urged the electricity users not to install street lights on their own without its consent. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 8: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has urged the electricity users not to install street lights on their own without its consent. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Issuing a public notice on Tuesday, NEA has urged the users to immediately install meter for measuring power supply for the street lights. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Noting that street light has a big share of electricity tariff dues, NEA issued a directive to the concerned groups to clear the payment without any delay. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"NEA has to face a huge loss in the absence of measurement of power consumption in street lamps and clearance of dues. The authority calls for the concerned people to clear the dues. Please do not install street lamps from direct electricity line without the consent of the NEA," reads the notice. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-08', 'modified' => '2023-03-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16943', 'image' => '20230308110426_Smart-lights-in-Kathmandu-and-Lalitpur - Copy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-08 11:03:25', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17204', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'PM Inaugurates Largest Hydropower Project Developed by Private Sector ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' on Tuesday inaugurated Solukhola Dudhkoshi Hydropower Project, which is the largest hydropower project developed by private sector so far in the country. ', 'content' => '<p><br /> <span style="font-size:18px">March 8: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' on Tuesday inaugurated Solukhola Dudhkoshi Hydropower Project, which is the largest hydropower project developed by private sector so far in the country. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Constructed at Solu Dudhkunda Municipality and Thulung Dudhkoshi Rural Municipality of Solukhumbu district, Solukhola Dudhskoshi Hydropower with installed capacity of 86 megawatt is the third largest hydropower project in the country. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The Run-of-the-river type project was estimate to cost Rs 11.86 billion initially. But, the cost increased to Rs 14 billion due to COVID-19, technical glitches, construction materials’ price rise, among others. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Promoted by Sahas Urja Limited, the hydropower generates 520.20 gigawatt power annually. The hydropower produces 100.27 gigawatt power in dry season and 419.93 gigawatt power in rainy season. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Inaugurating the hydropower project, PM Dahal said that successful development of the project had encouraged others involved in the hydropower sector. Dahal stated that recently held joint meeting of the energy secretaries from Nepal and India paved ways for Nepal's energy export and added that export of power was an appropriate means to reduce the country's trade deficit. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The PM also pledged to collaborate with the private sector and resolve the challenges for the development and expansion of energy sector, which he termed is a better option for economic development and trade deficit reduction.</span><br /> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Recalling that he had announced to begin mega and strategically important hydro projects in the country during his first prime ministerial stint, PM Prachanda argued that the projects have gradually advanced and would fulfill the country's development aspirations. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">During his speech, the PM recalled that power outage had ended in the country practically and technically when he became the prime minister for the second time after Kulman Ghising was appointed as Executive Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The PM Dahal said that appropriate time had come to make a leap in green hydrogen, thanks to the development in the energy sector. Stating that the developed countries had qualitatively increased the usage of hydrogen energy, Prachanda said Nepal too will move towards that end. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Sharing that he was suggested by Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Executive Director Kulman Ghising to ride a hydrogen-powered vehicle, PM informed that he was preparing for the same. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Independent Power Producers’ Association Chairman Krishna Prasad Acharya asked the government to protect private sector involved in hydropower development. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">“Since hydropower projects will have to be transferred to the government after fixed time period, the government has to see hydropower entrepreneurs differently,” Acharya said. He also drew the government’s attention to increase power consumption. Solukhola Dudhkoshi Hydropower Project’s Chairman Him Prasad Pathak held that use of water resource was the basis of Nepal’s prosperity. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The hydropower project will contribute 0.10 per cent power to the total national power production annually, according to hydropower project’s Managing Director Sushil Thapa. Electricity from the hydropower was connected to the national grid a month ago. </span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-08', 'modified' => '2023-03-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16942', 'image' => '20230308082150_collage (18).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-08 08:16:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17203', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Aspiring Migrant Workers Unable to go to Japan and Mauritius Despite having Labour Pacts', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 7: Labourers are still unable to go to Japan and Mauritius despite the government signing labour agreements four years ago. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 7: Labourers are still unable to go to Japan and Mauritius despite the government signing labour agreements four years ago. The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security has stated that a large number of young people are coming to inquire as to when they will be able to go to those countries.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Japan and Mauritius are some of the best-preferred destinations of Nepalese migrant workers. Many people expect a good salary if they get a job in these countries. The Ministry of Labor has been saying that although there is a labour agreement, the matter of supplying labour to those countries has not been finalized as technical issues are being discussed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"Even though there is a labour agreement, it seems that some issues need to be discussed and consulted. We are making a procedure to send workers to countries with whom there is a labour agreement," said an official of the ministry.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A labour agreement was signed between Nepal and Japan four years ago regarding labour supply. According to government data, more than 8,000 Nepalis will be allowed to go to Japan for work and study annually. It is estimated by the government that more than 70,000 Nepalese are currently employed in Japan.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Likewise, a government-level labour agreement was signed between the government of Mauritius and the government of Nepal also four years ago. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to government data, the number of Nepalese who reach Mauritius via India in search of employment is more than 5,000 every year. The government has signed a labour agreement with Mauritius to send more than 7,000 workers annually.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Most of the workers go to the Gulf countries and Malaysia because they cannot go to good countries in terms of service and facilities. Due to the lack of employment opportunities in the country, there is no alternative to foreign employment. Even though experts suggest that foreign employment and remittances can dry up at any time, the government has not been able to work to create jobs in the country.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-07', 'modified' => '2023-03-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16941', 'image' => '20230307053818_20230307024450_foreign emp.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-07 17:37:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17202', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Writ Petition Registered Against PM Dahal at Apex Court ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'A writ petition against the Prime Minister and CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' was registered in the Supreme Court on Tuesday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">March 7: A writ petition against the Prime Minister and CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' was registered in the Supreme Court on Tuesday.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"> Fourteen persons, including Gyanendra Raj Aran of Ramechhap have filed the writ naming the Maoist Centre Chair Dahal as the defendant. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The writ has been filed over the remarks Dahal made a few years ago, saying that he would take responsibility for the deaths of 5,000 people killed during the armed conflict waged by then CPN-Maoist Party for ten years. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The Supreme Court has fixed Thursday (March 9) as the date of hearing in the writ petition. </span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-07', 'modified' => '2023-03-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16940', 'image' => '20230307050606_collage - 2023-03-07T170019.119.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-07 17:01:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17201', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Demand For Slate Stone Surges ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The demand for ‘slate stone’ available in Bheri Municipality’s Mahtara village and Junichande Rural Municipality has increased in big cities of late. ', 'content' => '<p><br /> <span style="font-size:18px">March 7: The demand for ‘slate stone’ available in Bheri Municipality’s Mahtara village and Junichande Rural Municipality has increased in big cities of late. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Slate stones are collected and processed at Jajarkot Stone Suppliers and Cutting Center located at Bhurchaur of Bheri Municiaplity-10 and sent to other places through the center. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Slate stones processed at the center don’t change their colour nor do they fade away. The processed stones look natural and attractive. Thus, they are increasingly used in house construction, said center’ proprietor Mahendra Shahi. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Slates stones are becoming an alternative to imported marbles and tiles lately. Stones are being used for decorations in modern house. They are also being used in temple, and trekking routes.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Slate is mostly supplied to Nepalgunj and Surkhet. But, stales are reaching Pokhara, Kathmandu, Chitwan, Butwal, Dang, Biratnagar, Nepalgunj and other cities as well, said proprietor Shahi. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">“We are having a hard time meeting the high demand,” said owner Mahendra Shahi. He said that he was selling 25 trucks of slates in a year. </span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-07', 'modified' => '2023-03-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16939', 'image' => '20230307033527_collage - 2023-03-07T152953.924.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-07 15:28:57', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17199', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Banks Struggling to Increase Credit Flow to Priority Sector', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 7: Commercial banks are facing difficulty to provide loans to priority sector as specified by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 7: Commercial banks are facing difficulty to provide loans to priority sector as specified by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB). The priority sector lending includes agriculture, hydroelectricity and micro, domestic, small and medium enterprises. Although NRB instructed the commercial banks to invest 40 percent of the total loans in the specified areas by June 2026, the banks’ investment in these sectors have reached just 28.88 percent as of mid-January of the current fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NRB instructed the commercial banks to invest 15 percent each in agriculture as well as domestic, small and medium enterprises and 10 percent in hydropower by June 2026. According to the instructions, banks should invest 11 percent in agriculture and domestic, small and medium enterprises by the end of June 2023, 13 percent by June 2024, 14 percent by June 2025 and 15 percent by June 2026. In the case of hydropower, 6 percent must be invested by June 2023, 7 percent by June 2024, 8 percent by June 2025 and 10 percent by June 2026.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Among the priority sectors, the investment of banks in agriculture is more than specified, but the condition of investment in domestic, small and medium enterprises is rather weak. According to NRB, commercial banks have invested 13.09 percent of the total loans in agriculture by mid-January 2023. Agriculture Development Bank has invested 28.35 percent in the agriculture sector. Other banks have invested 11 to 19.95 percent of the total loans in this sector.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Banks have invested 6.29 percent in the hydropower sector till mid-January 2023. In hydropower, Sanima Bank has the highest investment of 9.96 percent and NIC Asia has the lowest investment of only 1.47 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The weakest investment of banks is in micro, domestic, small and medium enterprises. Commercial banks should invest 11 percent in this sector by next June, but they have invested only 9.51 percent as of mid-January 2023.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Former President of Nepal Bankers Association, Bhuvan Kumar Dahal says that even if banks invest in agriculture and hydropower as directed by NRB, it will be difficult for them to invest in small and medium enterprises. He suggested that instead of forcing big banks to invest in micro, domestic, small and medium enterprises, it would be appropriate to make them do it through microfinance, development banks and finance companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As the banks were unable to invest as specified, NRB pushed the deadline by 1 year last year. NRB revised the integrated directive last winter and moved the deadline for investment in priority areas from the end of June 2025 to the end of June 2026.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NRB spokesperson Dr. Gunakar Bhatta says that due to the Covid-19 pandemic and lack of liquidity, banks could not expand their credit, so the deadline for credit investment in priority areas has been postponed by one year. According to him, the banks that do not invest within the specified time will have to pay fines according to the rules.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Section 81 of Nepal Rastra Bank Act, 2058, if the loan is not disbursed within the specified period or if the disbursement is less than the minimum amount, there is a provision to penalize the banks.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-07', 'modified' => '2023-03-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16937', 'image' => '20230307023011_Banks - Copy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-07 14:28:45', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17197', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'All-Woman Pilots Conduct First Int’l Flight in History of NAC', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 7: Two female pilots of Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) operated an international flight for the first time in history of the state-owned airlines company.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 7: Two female pilots of Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) operated an international flight for the first time in history of the state-owned airlines company. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">NAC’s Spokesperson Archana Khadka told New Business Age that Captain Bhawana Pant and Co-pilot Sriana Raut conducted the flight from Kathmandu to Dubai on Saturday night. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“This is the first time in the history of Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) that two female pilots have flown an international flight. We have previous record of female pilots conducting domestic flights but this is the first international flight and a new record,” Khadka shared.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Captain Pant commanded an Airbus A-320 aircraft from Kathmandu to Dubai at 11 pm on Saturday night. They will return on Wednesday on the occasion of the International Women’s Day.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Captain Pant has been associated with Nepal's aviation sector for the past 25 years. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The NAC has four female pilots who operate narrow-body aircraft and one female pilot capable of flying a wide-body aircraft.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-07', 'modified' => '2023-03-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16936', 'image' => '20230307115003_334607839_627698252224640_1990973481596409263_n.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-07 11:49:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17198', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Sugarcane Farmers Submit Memo to Government ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 7: Seven years have elapsed since the local sugarcane farmers of Kapilvastu have waged a struggle to recover their dues from the defaulting sugar mills.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 7: Seven years have elapsed since the local sugarcane farmers of Kapilvastu have waged a struggle to recover their dues from the defaulting sugar mills. During this period, farmers have repeatedly submitted memorandum and staged protests to put pressure on the government to address their demands. However, their demand have not been addressed as of today. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On Monday, the agitating farmers handed over a memorandum to the government through the Area Administration Office Chandrauta demanding payment of the due amount.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The farmers said that they put forth the demand after the sugar mills failed to make the payment as per the decision of the government in the fiscal year 2071/72. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government fixes the sugarcane price every year but the local businesspersons do not pay price to the farmers, said Kapilvastu Farmers Association’s Chairperson Anup Kumar Chaudhary, urging the government to pay attention to this situation. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In the memorandum, the farmers have included 10 separate demands, including arrangement of irrigation, waiver in customs duty for the purchase of tractors and establishment of sugar mill. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-07', 'modified' => '2023-03-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16935', 'image' => '20230307123524_sugarcane.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-07 12:34:38', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17196', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Depositors in Trouble after Cooperative Shuts its Services ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 7: The customers of Tulsipur-based Shiva Shikar Multi-Purpose Cooperatives have been badly affected after the cooperative closed its services. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 7: The customers of Tulsipur-based Shiva Shikar Multi-Purpose Cooperatives have been badly affected after the cooperative closed its services. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">With the closure of the cooperatives for a month, the depositors are forced to return empty handed. Tulsi Nepali, a fruit trader from BP Chowk, who had deposited Rs 127,000 in the cooperative, is now regretting over the decision to save his money. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"It has been almost a month. Although employees of the cooperative say they will open the office, they have not. It has been difficult to pay the loan," he shared his plight. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, Chandra Kali BK is another customer to deposit Rs 60,000 in the Shiva Shikar Cooperatives. She visited the office many times to withdraw her money, but in vain. "Nobody is present in the office. When they are contacted over phone, they say they will pay by coming July," she explained. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">She had planned to undergo medication with the saving, but now it is not certain when she will get her money back from the cooperative. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, Ashok Bhandari, who runs a fancy clothes shop in Tulsipur, informed that he had also deposited some amount of money in the cooperative. He reached the cooperative office many times, but returned empty handed.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Although it was a small amount (Rs 6,000), I had to toil for earning it. Now, I'm facing monetary problems," he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to him, the cooperative runs a mart, but the mart is not willing to adjust the purchase he made from his savings.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The cooperative had issued a notice on February 10 that it would close its services until another notice on the pretext that it was unable to pay back the depositors due to economic recession. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-07', 'modified' => '2023-03-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16934', 'image' => '20230307105235_cooperative problematic.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-07 10:51:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17195', 'article_category_id' => '277', 'title' => 'Honey Processing Industry Come into Operation ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' A honey Processing Industry has come into operation at Shivsatakshi Municipality, Jhapa. Female bee keepers have set up the honey processing plant for the first time in the district.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">March 7: A honey Processing Industry has come into operation at Shivsatakshi Municipality, Jhapa. Female bee keepers have set up the honey processing plant for the first time in the district.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Satashi Women Bee Keeping Association, Sahara Nepal and Hokse Agriculture Cooperative have jointly established Sahara Satakshi Women Bee Honey Industry at the cost of Rs 12.5 million, according to industry’s Coordinator Devi Kumari Oli Dahal.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Coordinator Dahal informed that the plant was processing more than 10,000 metric tons of honey in a year. A farming is being done for the commercial production of the honey in Satakshi Municipality. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Since honey is being processed with modern machine, we don’t have the problem for its marketing, said farmer Dhanmaya Pathak. Seven females are employed at the plant in the first phase. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Locals of Shivsatakshi-11 have kept beehives ranging from 10 to 250 on average as ward No 11 has been declared bee keeping block area. More than 300 women have been doing bee keeping commercially and have been producing more than 60 tons of honey at Shivsatakshi-11 annually. </span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-07', 'modified' => '2023-03-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16933', 'image' => '20230307065100_collage (17).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-07 06:42:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17194', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Holi Gradually Taking Decent Colour ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 6: Holi, the festival of colours, has started to be celebrated in a more decent way in recent years.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 6: Holi, the festival of colours, has started to be celebrated in a more decent way in recent years. Until some years back, young women would stop venturing out in the streets of Kathmandu nearly a week before the festival as they were often the targets of some unruly youths hurling balloons filled with coloured water. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Unsuspecting women walking on the street were hurled with water from roof tops. Some rowdy revelers even went to the extent of smearing colours on the faces of other people against their will. Reports of pedestrians being thrown dirty water, being smeared with black paint etc were also frequent. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It was unsafe for them to go out during the festival. The women who went out for some urgent work used to come home drenched. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">But this uncivilized trend is becoming a thing of the past. But still there are some people who resort to these kinds of aberrant practices in the name of celebrating the festival of colours. Nepal Police have said such elements would be brought to book. Police said so far they have not received any complaint of people throwing water or water-filled balloons and smearing colour powder on anyone against their will. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">However, groups of people especially youths, could be seen celebrating the festival amongst their friends and families in decent way. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">This year the festival is observed in the hill and mountainous districts today while it will be celebrated in the Tarai-Madhes districts tomorrow. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Basantapur sees festivity since morning </span></strong><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">People had gathered at Basantapur Durbar Square in Kathmandu since today morning for the traditional Holi celebrations. A ritualistic wooden pole with tufts of colourful strips of cloths known as 'chir' on its top end that was installed in the Basantapur Durbar Square a week back heralding the start of the Phagu (Holi) festival is to be pulled down tonight. It is taken to Tundikhel amidst the playing of folk musical instruments and burnt. The ashes of the 'chir' are considered as talisman and people scramble for getting hold of the ashes. They put tika mark of this ash on their forehead in the belief that it drives away evil and protects from bad omen. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">27K security personnel mobilised </span></strong><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal Police has said 27,000 police personnel have been mobilised throughout the country for maintaining law and order during the Holi festival this year. This number is apart from those personnel mobilised for regular peace keeping, said Deputy Inspector General Poshraj Pokharel, the spokesman for the Nepal Police. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to him, no untoward incidents have been reported in course of the festival throughout the country so far today. Security has been beefed up in the big cities across the country, including Kathmandu. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Police are conducting checking at more than 66 places, apart from the places of regular security checks, in the federal capital. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-06', 'modified' => '2023-03-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16932', 'image' => '20230306065344_1678092822.332510066_1600877007053479_2283640620397237771_n.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-06 18:52:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17193', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Rural Electrification Campaign Gathers Momentum in Tanahun', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => '', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">March 6: The rural electrification campaign has gathered momentum in different places of Tanahun district where the substations for power supply are being constructed. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The substations are being built with support from the Tanahun hydropower project for the electrification drive. Managing Director of Tanahun hydropower project Kiran Kumar Shrestha said the construction of substations has been completed in Ghiring Rural Municipality-4 and Bandipur Rural Municipality-6.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">After the construction of the substations, power supply is ensured in Bhimad Municipality, Ghiring Rural Municipality and Rising Rural Municipality in Tanahun, and some parts of Nawalparasi (Bardaghat Susta Purba).</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">With the completion of substations, the officials claimed that reliable and quality power supply is guaranteed to the consumers. Managing Director Shrestha shared that the entire job of rural electrification would be completed in the upcoming fiscal year.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Nepal Electricity Authority Authority (NEA) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have funded the construction of Tanahun Hydropower project.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The Tanahun rural electrification and distribution system strengthening project had signed a contract with the East India Industry and Waiba Infratech JV for the rural electrification purpose. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"> </span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-06', 'modified' => '2023-03-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16931', 'image' => '20230306063753_collage (16).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-06 18:34:44', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Notice (8): Undefined variable: file [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133]Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/subindexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17208', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Facilitate Investment for NRNs', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 8: The government has amended the Industrial Enterprises Act 2076 to make it easier for non-resident Nepali (NRNs) to invest in Nepal.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 8: The government has amended the Industrial Enterprises Act 2076 to make it easier for non-resident Nepali (NRNs) to invest in Nepal. As per the new provision, the investment company itself can approve the investment in the name of the investor.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NRNs are willing to invest in Nepal and have been demanding legal and procedural reforms for that. In the budget statement of the current fiscal year, the government mentioned that 'foreign investment laws and procedures will be improved to attract foreign investment in manufacturing and export industries and bring in investment'.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Baburam Gautam, joint secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, informed that the conditions for the establishment of companies have been revised to attract and promote the investment of NRNs. According to him, the monitoring of such a company and the monitoring of investors' investment were not clear previously.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Gautam said, “Now, arrangements have been made for the Department of Industry to monitor the investment.” After establishing the investment company under the previous arrangement, the investor had to come and complete other procedures from industry registration. After the amendment, foreign investment will be accepted even if the investor is not present in person.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The company itself will be able to approve the foreign investment in the name of the investor with the documents of the investors in the 'Investment Company' which will be established as a joint investment between the Government of Nepal and NRNs. In the case of other investment companies, there is a provision that the approval of such foreign investment should be obtained from the government body responsible for industry registration.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Foreign investment and technology transfer rules and regulations of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) must be followed when foreign investment is brought in and sent out. However, in the case of a joint company of Nepalese government and NRNs, the government has made a separate decision. Similarly, when NRNs invest in Nepal, the limit that they can invest in a project should not be less than Rs 10 million. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The minimum investment of the investment companies, except those established as the joint investment of the government and NRNs, should be Rs 1 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government arranged that such companies can only invest in the form of share capital in Nepal and cannot invest through loans, credit facilities, bonds and debentures. Joint investment companies with the government will be allowed to invest in bonds and debentures of infrastructure projects.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-08', 'modified' => '2023-03-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16946', 'image' => '20230308021916_Foreign investment.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-08 14:18:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17207', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '‘Free Trade Creates Opportunities Itself’', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 8: Economic experts and knowledgeable persons have stressed that expansion of opportunities and potential is only possible in a liberal economy. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 8: Economic experts and knowledgeable persons have stressed that expansion of opportunities and potential is only possible in a liberal economy. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Speaking at an international conference hosted by the Kathmandu University School of Management (KUSOM) on Tuesday, the experts said there is no alternative to free trade since hundred percent self-sufficiency is impossible in the present-day world. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">They underlined the need to devise proper policy by identifying the reasons behind the country sliding into import-oriented economy despite two decades since Nepal joined the World Trade Organization. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chairperson of South Asia Board Academy of International Business under the Indian Institute of Management Academy, Prof Dr Raghunath Supbramanyam said free trade creates opportunities itself. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"It provides opportunities in developing competitive capacity and technological usage," he said, adding Nepal should lay emphasis on spurring production based on its local resources. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Any country has its certain brand. Nepal can identify competitive and own resource-based goods and services in the global market. Improvement in the trade system coupled with the use of information technology could help reap these benefits," he suggested. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Former Commerce Secretary of Indian government, Dr Anup Wadhawan said the less regulation and liberal laws in trade the more benefits the economy would yield. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Adopting free trade by any country means cashing in on the advantages of developed and competitive economy to propel prosperity," he argued. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As total self-sufficiency was not possible in the present day, those aspiring for creativity in trade has no option to free trade, he noted. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Kathmandu University (KU) Vice-Chancellor Bhola Thapa said Nepal has been continuously deceived in the area of trade and the country's rising trade deficit was alarming. The trade policies Nepal has adopted so far have not been fairly successful in enhancing production and exploring market opportunities, he said, expressing the confidence that the conference would achieve success in reviewing policy failures and identifying proper policy choices. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KU Professor Achyut Wagle said Nepal's 85 percent trade was merely being done with two neighbours, India and China, so the Himalayan nation should lay emphasis on diversifying its trade. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal is weak not only in the export of goods but also of services, he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The international conference on free trade, economic development and economic sustainability would continue until Wednesday. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-08', 'modified' => '2023-03-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16945', 'image' => '20230308124237_free trde.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-08 12:41:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17206', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Price of Vegetables up by 135 Percent in a Week', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 8: In the last one week, the price of seasonal vegetables has increased by 135 percent. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 8: In the last one week, the price of seasonal vegetables has increased by 135 percent. According to the Kalimati Fruit and Vegetable Market Development Committee, the prices of seasonal vegetables such as cauliflower, tomatoes, carrot, broad beans, brinjal among others have increased as the season of winter crops is over.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The average wholesale price of local cauliflower, which was Rs 17 per kg last week, has reached Rs 40 per kg on Tuesday. This is an increase of 135 percent. The price of carrot from the Terai, which was Rs 17 per kg, has increased by 35 percent. The price of local tomatoes has increased by 29 percent. Similarly, the price of broad beans has increased by 46 percent, broccoli by 60 percent, bitter melon by 88 percent and red radish by 68 percent.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Binay Shrestha, information officer of the committee, said that the price may have increased because the season of winter crop is over. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"This cannot be considered as sudden price hike. However, the price is higher than the normal times," he told New Business Age, adding, "On the one hand, the season of winter crop has ended, and on the other hand, the vegetables planted by the farmers for the summer season have not started yielding." </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Now it is the season of party and feasting time and the demand for vegetables such as cauliflower, cabbage, carrot, and radish is high, which may have increased the price, according to Shrestha.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Sometime ago, the farmers of Chitwan staged a protest by throwing vegetables on the street saying that they were not getting a fair price for their produce. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Geeta Prasad Acharya, president of the Kalimati Vegetable Market Traders Committee, says that it is clear how weak our market system is with the start of the 'off-season' within a few weeks.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The records of the committee show that 800 to 900 tons of vegetables are imported to Kalimati on a normal day, but now only 600 to 700 tons of vegetables are arriving on a daily basis.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">After the price increase in the wholesale market, its impact has reached the retail market. There is also a huge difference in the prices in the wholesale and retail markets. It has been found that vegetables are being sold in the retail market at a price higher than the price in the wholesale market of Kalimati by Rs 30 to Rs 40 per kg.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Consumers are complaining that the retailers are arbitrarily charging the price because the price has increased in the wholesale market.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> Suman Maharjan, who came to Kirtipur's vegetable market to buy vegetables, said that traders are selling vegetables at a higher price because of the increase in prices in the wholesale market. He also said that the price varies from shop to shop.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-08', 'modified' => '2023-03-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16944', 'image' => '20230308112459_1678235711.Clipboard21.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-08 11:24:23', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17205', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEA Urges Users not to Install Street Lights on their Own ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 8: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has urged the electricity users not to install street lights on their own without its consent. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 8: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has urged the electricity users not to install street lights on their own without its consent. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Issuing a public notice on Tuesday, NEA has urged the users to immediately install meter for measuring power supply for the street lights. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Noting that street light has a big share of electricity tariff dues, NEA issued a directive to the concerned groups to clear the payment without any delay. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"NEA has to face a huge loss in the absence of measurement of power consumption in street lamps and clearance of dues. The authority calls for the concerned people to clear the dues. Please do not install street lamps from direct electricity line without the consent of the NEA," reads the notice. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-08', 'modified' => '2023-03-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16943', 'image' => '20230308110426_Smart-lights-in-Kathmandu-and-Lalitpur - Copy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-08 11:03:25', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17204', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'PM Inaugurates Largest Hydropower Project Developed by Private Sector ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' on Tuesday inaugurated Solukhola Dudhkoshi Hydropower Project, which is the largest hydropower project developed by private sector so far in the country. ', 'content' => '<p><br /> <span style="font-size:18px">March 8: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' on Tuesday inaugurated Solukhola Dudhkoshi Hydropower Project, which is the largest hydropower project developed by private sector so far in the country. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Constructed at Solu Dudhkunda Municipality and Thulung Dudhkoshi Rural Municipality of Solukhumbu district, Solukhola Dudhskoshi Hydropower with installed capacity of 86 megawatt is the third largest hydropower project in the country. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The Run-of-the-river type project was estimate to cost Rs 11.86 billion initially. But, the cost increased to Rs 14 billion due to COVID-19, technical glitches, construction materials’ price rise, among others. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Promoted by Sahas Urja Limited, the hydropower generates 520.20 gigawatt power annually. The hydropower produces 100.27 gigawatt power in dry season and 419.93 gigawatt power in rainy season. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Inaugurating the hydropower project, PM Dahal said that successful development of the project had encouraged others involved in the hydropower sector. Dahal stated that recently held joint meeting of the energy secretaries from Nepal and India paved ways for Nepal's energy export and added that export of power was an appropriate means to reduce the country's trade deficit. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The PM also pledged to collaborate with the private sector and resolve the challenges for the development and expansion of energy sector, which he termed is a better option for economic development and trade deficit reduction.</span><br /> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Recalling that he had announced to begin mega and strategically important hydro projects in the country during his first prime ministerial stint, PM Prachanda argued that the projects have gradually advanced and would fulfill the country's development aspirations. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">During his speech, the PM recalled that power outage had ended in the country practically and technically when he became the prime minister for the second time after Kulman Ghising was appointed as Executive Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The PM Dahal said that appropriate time had come to make a leap in green hydrogen, thanks to the development in the energy sector. Stating that the developed countries had qualitatively increased the usage of hydrogen energy, Prachanda said Nepal too will move towards that end. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Sharing that he was suggested by Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Executive Director Kulman Ghising to ride a hydrogen-powered vehicle, PM informed that he was preparing for the same. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Independent Power Producers’ Association Chairman Krishna Prasad Acharya asked the government to protect private sector involved in hydropower development. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">“Since hydropower projects will have to be transferred to the government after fixed time period, the government has to see hydropower entrepreneurs differently,” Acharya said. He also drew the government’s attention to increase power consumption. Solukhola Dudhkoshi Hydropower Project’s Chairman Him Prasad Pathak held that use of water resource was the basis of Nepal’s prosperity. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The hydropower project will contribute 0.10 per cent power to the total national power production annually, according to hydropower project’s Managing Director Sushil Thapa. Electricity from the hydropower was connected to the national grid a month ago. </span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-08', 'modified' => '2023-03-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16942', 'image' => '20230308082150_collage (18).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-08 08:16:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17203', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Aspiring Migrant Workers Unable to go to Japan and Mauritius Despite having Labour Pacts', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 7: Labourers are still unable to go to Japan and Mauritius despite the government signing labour agreements four years ago. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 7: Labourers are still unable to go to Japan and Mauritius despite the government signing labour agreements four years ago. The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security has stated that a large number of young people are coming to inquire as to when they will be able to go to those countries.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Japan and Mauritius are some of the best-preferred destinations of Nepalese migrant workers. Many people expect a good salary if they get a job in these countries. The Ministry of Labor has been saying that although there is a labour agreement, the matter of supplying labour to those countries has not been finalized as technical issues are being discussed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"Even though there is a labour agreement, it seems that some issues need to be discussed and consulted. We are making a procedure to send workers to countries with whom there is a labour agreement," said an official of the ministry.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A labour agreement was signed between Nepal and Japan four years ago regarding labour supply. According to government data, more than 8,000 Nepalis will be allowed to go to Japan for work and study annually. It is estimated by the government that more than 70,000 Nepalese are currently employed in Japan.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Likewise, a government-level labour agreement was signed between the government of Mauritius and the government of Nepal also four years ago. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to government data, the number of Nepalese who reach Mauritius via India in search of employment is more than 5,000 every year. The government has signed a labour agreement with Mauritius to send more than 7,000 workers annually.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Most of the workers go to the Gulf countries and Malaysia because they cannot go to good countries in terms of service and facilities. Due to the lack of employment opportunities in the country, there is no alternative to foreign employment. Even though experts suggest that foreign employment and remittances can dry up at any time, the government has not been able to work to create jobs in the country.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-07', 'modified' => '2023-03-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16941', 'image' => '20230307053818_20230307024450_foreign emp.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-07 17:37:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17202', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Writ Petition Registered Against PM Dahal at Apex Court ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'A writ petition against the Prime Minister and CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' was registered in the Supreme Court on Tuesday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">March 7: A writ petition against the Prime Minister and CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' was registered in the Supreme Court on Tuesday.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"> Fourteen persons, including Gyanendra Raj Aran of Ramechhap have filed the writ naming the Maoist Centre Chair Dahal as the defendant. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The writ has been filed over the remarks Dahal made a few years ago, saying that he would take responsibility for the deaths of 5,000 people killed during the armed conflict waged by then CPN-Maoist Party for ten years. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The Supreme Court has fixed Thursday (March 9) as the date of hearing in the writ petition. </span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-07', 'modified' => '2023-03-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16940', 'image' => '20230307050606_collage - 2023-03-07T170019.119.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-07 17:01:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17201', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Demand For Slate Stone Surges ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The demand for ‘slate stone’ available in Bheri Municipality’s Mahtara village and Junichande Rural Municipality has increased in big cities of late. ', 'content' => '<p><br /> <span style="font-size:18px">March 7: The demand for ‘slate stone’ available in Bheri Municipality’s Mahtara village and Junichande Rural Municipality has increased in big cities of late. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Slate stones are collected and processed at Jajarkot Stone Suppliers and Cutting Center located at Bhurchaur of Bheri Municiaplity-10 and sent to other places through the center. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Slate stones processed at the center don’t change their colour nor do they fade away. The processed stones look natural and attractive. Thus, they are increasingly used in house construction, said center’ proprietor Mahendra Shahi. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Slates stones are becoming an alternative to imported marbles and tiles lately. Stones are being used for decorations in modern house. They are also being used in temple, and trekking routes.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Slate is mostly supplied to Nepalgunj and Surkhet. But, stales are reaching Pokhara, Kathmandu, Chitwan, Butwal, Dang, Biratnagar, Nepalgunj and other cities as well, said proprietor Shahi. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">“We are having a hard time meeting the high demand,” said owner Mahendra Shahi. He said that he was selling 25 trucks of slates in a year. </span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-07', 'modified' => '2023-03-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16939', 'image' => '20230307033527_collage - 2023-03-07T152953.924.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-07 15:28:57', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17199', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Banks Struggling to Increase Credit Flow to Priority Sector', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 7: Commercial banks are facing difficulty to provide loans to priority sector as specified by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 7: Commercial banks are facing difficulty to provide loans to priority sector as specified by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB). The priority sector lending includes agriculture, hydroelectricity and micro, domestic, small and medium enterprises. Although NRB instructed the commercial banks to invest 40 percent of the total loans in the specified areas by June 2026, the banks’ investment in these sectors have reached just 28.88 percent as of mid-January of the current fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NRB instructed the commercial banks to invest 15 percent each in agriculture as well as domestic, small and medium enterprises and 10 percent in hydropower by June 2026. According to the instructions, banks should invest 11 percent in agriculture and domestic, small and medium enterprises by the end of June 2023, 13 percent by June 2024, 14 percent by June 2025 and 15 percent by June 2026. In the case of hydropower, 6 percent must be invested by June 2023, 7 percent by June 2024, 8 percent by June 2025 and 10 percent by June 2026.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Among the priority sectors, the investment of banks in agriculture is more than specified, but the condition of investment in domestic, small and medium enterprises is rather weak. According to NRB, commercial banks have invested 13.09 percent of the total loans in agriculture by mid-January 2023. Agriculture Development Bank has invested 28.35 percent in the agriculture sector. Other banks have invested 11 to 19.95 percent of the total loans in this sector.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Banks have invested 6.29 percent in the hydropower sector till mid-January 2023. In hydropower, Sanima Bank has the highest investment of 9.96 percent and NIC Asia has the lowest investment of only 1.47 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The weakest investment of banks is in micro, domestic, small and medium enterprises. Commercial banks should invest 11 percent in this sector by next June, but they have invested only 9.51 percent as of mid-January 2023.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Former President of Nepal Bankers Association, Bhuvan Kumar Dahal says that even if banks invest in agriculture and hydropower as directed by NRB, it will be difficult for them to invest in small and medium enterprises. He suggested that instead of forcing big banks to invest in micro, domestic, small and medium enterprises, it would be appropriate to make them do it through microfinance, development banks and finance companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As the banks were unable to invest as specified, NRB pushed the deadline by 1 year last year. NRB revised the integrated directive last winter and moved the deadline for investment in priority areas from the end of June 2025 to the end of June 2026.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NRB spokesperson Dr. Gunakar Bhatta says that due to the Covid-19 pandemic and lack of liquidity, banks could not expand their credit, so the deadline for credit investment in priority areas has been postponed by one year. According to him, the banks that do not invest within the specified time will have to pay fines according to the rules.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Section 81 of Nepal Rastra Bank Act, 2058, if the loan is not disbursed within the specified period or if the disbursement is less than the minimum amount, there is a provision to penalize the banks.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-07', 'modified' => '2023-03-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16937', 'image' => '20230307023011_Banks - Copy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-07 14:28:45', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17197', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'All-Woman Pilots Conduct First Int’l Flight in History of NAC', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 7: Two female pilots of Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) operated an international flight for the first time in history of the state-owned airlines company.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 7: Two female pilots of Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) operated an international flight for the first time in history of the state-owned airlines company. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">NAC’s Spokesperson Archana Khadka told New Business Age that Captain Bhawana Pant and Co-pilot Sriana Raut conducted the flight from Kathmandu to Dubai on Saturday night. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“This is the first time in the history of Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) that two female pilots have flown an international flight. We have previous record of female pilots conducting domestic flights but this is the first international flight and a new record,” Khadka shared.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Captain Pant commanded an Airbus A-320 aircraft from Kathmandu to Dubai at 11 pm on Saturday night. They will return on Wednesday on the occasion of the International Women’s Day.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Captain Pant has been associated with Nepal's aviation sector for the past 25 years. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The NAC has four female pilots who operate narrow-body aircraft and one female pilot capable of flying a wide-body aircraft.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-07', 'modified' => '2023-03-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16936', 'image' => '20230307115003_334607839_627698252224640_1990973481596409263_n.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-07 11:49:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17198', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Sugarcane Farmers Submit Memo to Government ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 7: Seven years have elapsed since the local sugarcane farmers of Kapilvastu have waged a struggle to recover their dues from the defaulting sugar mills.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 7: Seven years have elapsed since the local sugarcane farmers of Kapilvastu have waged a struggle to recover their dues from the defaulting sugar mills. During this period, farmers have repeatedly submitted memorandum and staged protests to put pressure on the government to address their demands. However, their demand have not been addressed as of today. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On Monday, the agitating farmers handed over a memorandum to the government through the Area Administration Office Chandrauta demanding payment of the due amount.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The farmers said that they put forth the demand after the sugar mills failed to make the payment as per the decision of the government in the fiscal year 2071/72. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government fixes the sugarcane price every year but the local businesspersons do not pay price to the farmers, said Kapilvastu Farmers Association’s Chairperson Anup Kumar Chaudhary, urging the government to pay attention to this situation. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In the memorandum, the farmers have included 10 separate demands, including arrangement of irrigation, waiver in customs duty for the purchase of tractors and establishment of sugar mill. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-07', 'modified' => '2023-03-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16935', 'image' => '20230307123524_sugarcane.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-07 12:34:38', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17196', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Depositors in Trouble after Cooperative Shuts its Services ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 7: The customers of Tulsipur-based Shiva Shikar Multi-Purpose Cooperatives have been badly affected after the cooperative closed its services. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 7: The customers of Tulsipur-based Shiva Shikar Multi-Purpose Cooperatives have been badly affected after the cooperative closed its services. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">With the closure of the cooperatives for a month, the depositors are forced to return empty handed. Tulsi Nepali, a fruit trader from BP Chowk, who had deposited Rs 127,000 in the cooperative, is now regretting over the decision to save his money. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"It has been almost a month. Although employees of the cooperative say they will open the office, they have not. It has been difficult to pay the loan," he shared his plight. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, Chandra Kali BK is another customer to deposit Rs 60,000 in the Shiva Shikar Cooperatives. She visited the office many times to withdraw her money, but in vain. "Nobody is present in the office. When they are contacted over phone, they say they will pay by coming July," she explained. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">She had planned to undergo medication with the saving, but now it is not certain when she will get her money back from the cooperative. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, Ashok Bhandari, who runs a fancy clothes shop in Tulsipur, informed that he had also deposited some amount of money in the cooperative. He reached the cooperative office many times, but returned empty handed.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Although it was a small amount (Rs 6,000), I had to toil for earning it. Now, I'm facing monetary problems," he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to him, the cooperative runs a mart, but the mart is not willing to adjust the purchase he made from his savings.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The cooperative had issued a notice on February 10 that it would close its services until another notice on the pretext that it was unable to pay back the depositors due to economic recession. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-07', 'modified' => '2023-03-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16934', 'image' => '20230307105235_cooperative problematic.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-07 10:51:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17195', 'article_category_id' => '277', 'title' => 'Honey Processing Industry Come into Operation ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' A honey Processing Industry has come into operation at Shivsatakshi Municipality, Jhapa. Female bee keepers have set up the honey processing plant for the first time in the district.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">March 7: A honey Processing Industry has come into operation at Shivsatakshi Municipality, Jhapa. Female bee keepers have set up the honey processing plant for the first time in the district.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Satashi Women Bee Keeping Association, Sahara Nepal and Hokse Agriculture Cooperative have jointly established Sahara Satakshi Women Bee Honey Industry at the cost of Rs 12.5 million, according to industry’s Coordinator Devi Kumari Oli Dahal.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Coordinator Dahal informed that the plant was processing more than 10,000 metric tons of honey in a year. A farming is being done for the commercial production of the honey in Satakshi Municipality. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Since honey is being processed with modern machine, we don’t have the problem for its marketing, said farmer Dhanmaya Pathak. Seven females are employed at the plant in the first phase. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Locals of Shivsatakshi-11 have kept beehives ranging from 10 to 250 on average as ward No 11 has been declared bee keeping block area. More than 300 women have been doing bee keeping commercially and have been producing more than 60 tons of honey at Shivsatakshi-11 annually. </span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-07', 'modified' => '2023-03-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16933', 'image' => '20230307065100_collage (17).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-07 06:42:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17194', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Holi Gradually Taking Decent Colour ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 6: Holi, the festival of colours, has started to be celebrated in a more decent way in recent years.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 6: Holi, the festival of colours, has started to be celebrated in a more decent way in recent years. Until some years back, young women would stop venturing out in the streets of Kathmandu nearly a week before the festival as they were often the targets of some unruly youths hurling balloons filled with coloured water. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Unsuspecting women walking on the street were hurled with water from roof tops. Some rowdy revelers even went to the extent of smearing colours on the faces of other people against their will. Reports of pedestrians being thrown dirty water, being smeared with black paint etc were also frequent. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It was unsafe for them to go out during the festival. The women who went out for some urgent work used to come home drenched. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">But this uncivilized trend is becoming a thing of the past. But still there are some people who resort to these kinds of aberrant practices in the name of celebrating the festival of colours. Nepal Police have said such elements would be brought to book. Police said so far they have not received any complaint of people throwing water or water-filled balloons and smearing colour powder on anyone against their will. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">However, groups of people especially youths, could be seen celebrating the festival amongst their friends and families in decent way. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">This year the festival is observed in the hill and mountainous districts today while it will be celebrated in the Tarai-Madhes districts tomorrow. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Basantapur sees festivity since morning </span></strong><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">People had gathered at Basantapur Durbar Square in Kathmandu since today morning for the traditional Holi celebrations. A ritualistic wooden pole with tufts of colourful strips of cloths known as 'chir' on its top end that was installed in the Basantapur Durbar Square a week back heralding the start of the Phagu (Holi) festival is to be pulled down tonight. It is taken to Tundikhel amidst the playing of folk musical instruments and burnt. The ashes of the 'chir' are considered as talisman and people scramble for getting hold of the ashes. They put tika mark of this ash on their forehead in the belief that it drives away evil and protects from bad omen. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">27K security personnel mobilised </span></strong><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal Police has said 27,000 police personnel have been mobilised throughout the country for maintaining law and order during the Holi festival this year. This number is apart from those personnel mobilised for regular peace keeping, said Deputy Inspector General Poshraj Pokharel, the spokesman for the Nepal Police. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to him, no untoward incidents have been reported in course of the festival throughout the country so far today. Security has been beefed up in the big cities across the country, including Kathmandu. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Police are conducting checking at more than 66 places, apart from the places of regular security checks, in the federal capital. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-06', 'modified' => '2023-03-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16932', 'image' => '20230306065344_1678092822.332510066_1600877007053479_2283640620397237771_n.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-06 18:52:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17193', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Rural Electrification Campaign Gathers Momentum in Tanahun', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => '', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">March 6: The rural electrification campaign has gathered momentum in different places of Tanahun district where the substations for power supply are being constructed. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The substations are being built with support from the Tanahun hydropower project for the electrification drive. Managing Director of Tanahun hydropower project Kiran Kumar Shrestha said the construction of substations has been completed in Ghiring Rural Municipality-4 and Bandipur Rural Municipality-6.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">After the construction of the substations, power supply is ensured in Bhimad Municipality, Ghiring Rural Municipality and Rising Rural Municipality in Tanahun, and some parts of Nawalparasi (Bardaghat Susta Purba).</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">With the completion of substations, the officials claimed that reliable and quality power supply is guaranteed to the consumers. Managing Director Shrestha shared that the entire job of rural electrification would be completed in the upcoming fiscal year.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Nepal Electricity Authority Authority (NEA) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have funded the construction of Tanahun Hydropower project.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The Tanahun rural electrification and distribution system strengthening project had signed a contract with the East India Industry and Waiba Infratech JV for the rural electrification purpose. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"> </span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-06', 'modified' => '2023-03-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16931', 'image' => '20230306063753_collage (16).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-06 18:34:44', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Warning (2): simplexml_load_file() [<a href='http://php.net/function.simplexml-load-file'>function.simplexml-load-file</a>]: I/O warning : failed to load external entity "" [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133]file not found!Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/subindexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17208', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Facilitate Investment for NRNs', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 8: The government has amended the Industrial Enterprises Act 2076 to make it easier for non-resident Nepali (NRNs) to invest in Nepal.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 8: The government has amended the Industrial Enterprises Act 2076 to make it easier for non-resident Nepali (NRNs) to invest in Nepal. As per the new provision, the investment company itself can approve the investment in the name of the investor.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NRNs are willing to invest in Nepal and have been demanding legal and procedural reforms for that. In the budget statement of the current fiscal year, the government mentioned that 'foreign investment laws and procedures will be improved to attract foreign investment in manufacturing and export industries and bring in investment'.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Baburam Gautam, joint secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, informed that the conditions for the establishment of companies have been revised to attract and promote the investment of NRNs. According to him, the monitoring of such a company and the monitoring of investors' investment were not clear previously.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Gautam said, “Now, arrangements have been made for the Department of Industry to monitor the investment.” After establishing the investment company under the previous arrangement, the investor had to come and complete other procedures from industry registration. After the amendment, foreign investment will be accepted even if the investor is not present in person.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The company itself will be able to approve the foreign investment in the name of the investor with the documents of the investors in the 'Investment Company' which will be established as a joint investment between the Government of Nepal and NRNs. In the case of other investment companies, there is a provision that the approval of such foreign investment should be obtained from the government body responsible for industry registration.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Foreign investment and technology transfer rules and regulations of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) must be followed when foreign investment is brought in and sent out. However, in the case of a joint company of Nepalese government and NRNs, the government has made a separate decision. Similarly, when NRNs invest in Nepal, the limit that they can invest in a project should not be less than Rs 10 million. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The minimum investment of the investment companies, except those established as the joint investment of the government and NRNs, should be Rs 1 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government arranged that such companies can only invest in the form of share capital in Nepal and cannot invest through loans, credit facilities, bonds and debentures. Joint investment companies with the government will be allowed to invest in bonds and debentures of infrastructure projects.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-08', 'modified' => '2023-03-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16946', 'image' => '20230308021916_Foreign investment.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-08 14:18:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17207', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '‘Free Trade Creates Opportunities Itself’', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 8: Economic experts and knowledgeable persons have stressed that expansion of opportunities and potential is only possible in a liberal economy. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 8: Economic experts and knowledgeable persons have stressed that expansion of opportunities and potential is only possible in a liberal economy. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Speaking at an international conference hosted by the Kathmandu University School of Management (KUSOM) on Tuesday, the experts said there is no alternative to free trade since hundred percent self-sufficiency is impossible in the present-day world. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">They underlined the need to devise proper policy by identifying the reasons behind the country sliding into import-oriented economy despite two decades since Nepal joined the World Trade Organization. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chairperson of South Asia Board Academy of International Business under the Indian Institute of Management Academy, Prof Dr Raghunath Supbramanyam said free trade creates opportunities itself. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"It provides opportunities in developing competitive capacity and technological usage," he said, adding Nepal should lay emphasis on spurring production based on its local resources. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Any country has its certain brand. Nepal can identify competitive and own resource-based goods and services in the global market. Improvement in the trade system coupled with the use of information technology could help reap these benefits," he suggested. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Former Commerce Secretary of Indian government, Dr Anup Wadhawan said the less regulation and liberal laws in trade the more benefits the economy would yield. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Adopting free trade by any country means cashing in on the advantages of developed and competitive economy to propel prosperity," he argued. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As total self-sufficiency was not possible in the present day, those aspiring for creativity in trade has no option to free trade, he noted. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Kathmandu University (KU) Vice-Chancellor Bhola Thapa said Nepal has been continuously deceived in the area of trade and the country's rising trade deficit was alarming. The trade policies Nepal has adopted so far have not been fairly successful in enhancing production and exploring market opportunities, he said, expressing the confidence that the conference would achieve success in reviewing policy failures and identifying proper policy choices. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KU Professor Achyut Wagle said Nepal's 85 percent trade was merely being done with two neighbours, India and China, so the Himalayan nation should lay emphasis on diversifying its trade. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal is weak not only in the export of goods but also of services, he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The international conference on free trade, economic development and economic sustainability would continue until Wednesday. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-08', 'modified' => '2023-03-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16945', 'image' => '20230308124237_free trde.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-08 12:41:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17206', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Price of Vegetables up by 135 Percent in a Week', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 8: In the last one week, the price of seasonal vegetables has increased by 135 percent. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 8: In the last one week, the price of seasonal vegetables has increased by 135 percent. According to the Kalimati Fruit and Vegetable Market Development Committee, the prices of seasonal vegetables such as cauliflower, tomatoes, carrot, broad beans, brinjal among others have increased as the season of winter crops is over.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The average wholesale price of local cauliflower, which was Rs 17 per kg last week, has reached Rs 40 per kg on Tuesday. This is an increase of 135 percent. The price of carrot from the Terai, which was Rs 17 per kg, has increased by 35 percent. The price of local tomatoes has increased by 29 percent. Similarly, the price of broad beans has increased by 46 percent, broccoli by 60 percent, bitter melon by 88 percent and red radish by 68 percent.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Binay Shrestha, information officer of the committee, said that the price may have increased because the season of winter crop is over. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"This cannot be considered as sudden price hike. However, the price is higher than the normal times," he told New Business Age, adding, "On the one hand, the season of winter crop has ended, and on the other hand, the vegetables planted by the farmers for the summer season have not started yielding." </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Now it is the season of party and feasting time and the demand for vegetables such as cauliflower, cabbage, carrot, and radish is high, which may have increased the price, according to Shrestha.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Sometime ago, the farmers of Chitwan staged a protest by throwing vegetables on the street saying that they were not getting a fair price for their produce. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Geeta Prasad Acharya, president of the Kalimati Vegetable Market Traders Committee, says that it is clear how weak our market system is with the start of the 'off-season' within a few weeks.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The records of the committee show that 800 to 900 tons of vegetables are imported to Kalimati on a normal day, but now only 600 to 700 tons of vegetables are arriving on a daily basis.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">After the price increase in the wholesale market, its impact has reached the retail market. There is also a huge difference in the prices in the wholesale and retail markets. It has been found that vegetables are being sold in the retail market at a price higher than the price in the wholesale market of Kalimati by Rs 30 to Rs 40 per kg.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Consumers are complaining that the retailers are arbitrarily charging the price because the price has increased in the wholesale market.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> Suman Maharjan, who came to Kirtipur's vegetable market to buy vegetables, said that traders are selling vegetables at a higher price because of the increase in prices in the wholesale market. He also said that the price varies from shop to shop.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-08', 'modified' => '2023-03-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16944', 'image' => '20230308112459_1678235711.Clipboard21.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-08 11:24:23', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17205', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEA Urges Users not to Install Street Lights on their Own ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 8: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has urged the electricity users not to install street lights on their own without its consent. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 8: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has urged the electricity users not to install street lights on their own without its consent. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Issuing a public notice on Tuesday, NEA has urged the users to immediately install meter for measuring power supply for the street lights. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Noting that street light has a big share of electricity tariff dues, NEA issued a directive to the concerned groups to clear the payment without any delay. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"NEA has to face a huge loss in the absence of measurement of power consumption in street lamps and clearance of dues. The authority calls for the concerned people to clear the dues. Please do not install street lamps from direct electricity line without the consent of the NEA," reads the notice. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-08', 'modified' => '2023-03-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16943', 'image' => '20230308110426_Smart-lights-in-Kathmandu-and-Lalitpur - Copy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-08 11:03:25', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17204', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'PM Inaugurates Largest Hydropower Project Developed by Private Sector ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' on Tuesday inaugurated Solukhola Dudhkoshi Hydropower Project, which is the largest hydropower project developed by private sector so far in the country. ', 'content' => '<p><br /> <span style="font-size:18px">March 8: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' on Tuesday inaugurated Solukhola Dudhkoshi Hydropower Project, which is the largest hydropower project developed by private sector so far in the country. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Constructed at Solu Dudhkunda Municipality and Thulung Dudhkoshi Rural Municipality of Solukhumbu district, Solukhola Dudhskoshi Hydropower with installed capacity of 86 megawatt is the third largest hydropower project in the country. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The Run-of-the-river type project was estimate to cost Rs 11.86 billion initially. But, the cost increased to Rs 14 billion due to COVID-19, technical glitches, construction materials’ price rise, among others. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Promoted by Sahas Urja Limited, the hydropower generates 520.20 gigawatt power annually. The hydropower produces 100.27 gigawatt power in dry season and 419.93 gigawatt power in rainy season. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Inaugurating the hydropower project, PM Dahal said that successful development of the project had encouraged others involved in the hydropower sector. Dahal stated that recently held joint meeting of the energy secretaries from Nepal and India paved ways for Nepal's energy export and added that export of power was an appropriate means to reduce the country's trade deficit. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The PM also pledged to collaborate with the private sector and resolve the challenges for the development and expansion of energy sector, which he termed is a better option for economic development and trade deficit reduction.</span><br /> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Recalling that he had announced to begin mega and strategically important hydro projects in the country during his first prime ministerial stint, PM Prachanda argued that the projects have gradually advanced and would fulfill the country's development aspirations. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">During his speech, the PM recalled that power outage had ended in the country practically and technically when he became the prime minister for the second time after Kulman Ghising was appointed as Executive Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The PM Dahal said that appropriate time had come to make a leap in green hydrogen, thanks to the development in the energy sector. Stating that the developed countries had qualitatively increased the usage of hydrogen energy, Prachanda said Nepal too will move towards that end. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Sharing that he was suggested by Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Executive Director Kulman Ghising to ride a hydrogen-powered vehicle, PM informed that he was preparing for the same. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Independent Power Producers’ Association Chairman Krishna Prasad Acharya asked the government to protect private sector involved in hydropower development. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">“Since hydropower projects will have to be transferred to the government after fixed time period, the government has to see hydropower entrepreneurs differently,” Acharya said. He also drew the government’s attention to increase power consumption. Solukhola Dudhkoshi Hydropower Project’s Chairman Him Prasad Pathak held that use of water resource was the basis of Nepal’s prosperity. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The hydropower project will contribute 0.10 per cent power to the total national power production annually, according to hydropower project’s Managing Director Sushil Thapa. Electricity from the hydropower was connected to the national grid a month ago. </span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-08', 'modified' => '2023-03-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16942', 'image' => '20230308082150_collage (18).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-08 08:16:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17203', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Aspiring Migrant Workers Unable to go to Japan and Mauritius Despite having Labour Pacts', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 7: Labourers are still unable to go to Japan and Mauritius despite the government signing labour agreements four years ago. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 7: Labourers are still unable to go to Japan and Mauritius despite the government signing labour agreements four years ago. The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security has stated that a large number of young people are coming to inquire as to when they will be able to go to those countries.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Japan and Mauritius are some of the best-preferred destinations of Nepalese migrant workers. Many people expect a good salary if they get a job in these countries. The Ministry of Labor has been saying that although there is a labour agreement, the matter of supplying labour to those countries has not been finalized as technical issues are being discussed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"Even though there is a labour agreement, it seems that some issues need to be discussed and consulted. We are making a procedure to send workers to countries with whom there is a labour agreement," said an official of the ministry.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A labour agreement was signed between Nepal and Japan four years ago regarding labour supply. According to government data, more than 8,000 Nepalis will be allowed to go to Japan for work and study annually. It is estimated by the government that more than 70,000 Nepalese are currently employed in Japan.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Likewise, a government-level labour agreement was signed between the government of Mauritius and the government of Nepal also four years ago. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to government data, the number of Nepalese who reach Mauritius via India in search of employment is more than 5,000 every year. The government has signed a labour agreement with Mauritius to send more than 7,000 workers annually.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Most of the workers go to the Gulf countries and Malaysia because they cannot go to good countries in terms of service and facilities. Due to the lack of employment opportunities in the country, there is no alternative to foreign employment. Even though experts suggest that foreign employment and remittances can dry up at any time, the government has not been able to work to create jobs in the country.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-07', 'modified' => '2023-03-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16941', 'image' => '20230307053818_20230307024450_foreign emp.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-07 17:37:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17202', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Writ Petition Registered Against PM Dahal at Apex Court ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'A writ petition against the Prime Minister and CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' was registered in the Supreme Court on Tuesday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">March 7: A writ petition against the Prime Minister and CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' was registered in the Supreme Court on Tuesday.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"> Fourteen persons, including Gyanendra Raj Aran of Ramechhap have filed the writ naming the Maoist Centre Chair Dahal as the defendant. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The writ has been filed over the remarks Dahal made a few years ago, saying that he would take responsibility for the deaths of 5,000 people killed during the armed conflict waged by then CPN-Maoist Party for ten years. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The Supreme Court has fixed Thursday (March 9) as the date of hearing in the writ petition. </span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-07', 'modified' => '2023-03-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16940', 'image' => '20230307050606_collage - 2023-03-07T170019.119.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-07 17:01:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17201', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Demand For Slate Stone Surges ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The demand for ‘slate stone’ available in Bheri Municipality’s Mahtara village and Junichande Rural Municipality has increased in big cities of late. ', 'content' => '<p><br /> <span style="font-size:18px">March 7: The demand for ‘slate stone’ available in Bheri Municipality’s Mahtara village and Junichande Rural Municipality has increased in big cities of late. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Slate stones are collected and processed at Jajarkot Stone Suppliers and Cutting Center located at Bhurchaur of Bheri Municiaplity-10 and sent to other places through the center. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Slate stones processed at the center don’t change their colour nor do they fade away. The processed stones look natural and attractive. Thus, they are increasingly used in house construction, said center’ proprietor Mahendra Shahi. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Slates stones are becoming an alternative to imported marbles and tiles lately. Stones are being used for decorations in modern house. They are also being used in temple, and trekking routes.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Slate is mostly supplied to Nepalgunj and Surkhet. But, stales are reaching Pokhara, Kathmandu, Chitwan, Butwal, Dang, Biratnagar, Nepalgunj and other cities as well, said proprietor Shahi. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">“We are having a hard time meeting the high demand,” said owner Mahendra Shahi. He said that he was selling 25 trucks of slates in a year. </span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-07', 'modified' => '2023-03-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16939', 'image' => '20230307033527_collage - 2023-03-07T152953.924.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-07 15:28:57', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17199', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Banks Struggling to Increase Credit Flow to Priority Sector', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 7: Commercial banks are facing difficulty to provide loans to priority sector as specified by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 7: Commercial banks are facing difficulty to provide loans to priority sector as specified by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB). The priority sector lending includes agriculture, hydroelectricity and micro, domestic, small and medium enterprises. Although NRB instructed the commercial banks to invest 40 percent of the total loans in the specified areas by June 2026, the banks’ investment in these sectors have reached just 28.88 percent as of mid-January of the current fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NRB instructed the commercial banks to invest 15 percent each in agriculture as well as domestic, small and medium enterprises and 10 percent in hydropower by June 2026. According to the instructions, banks should invest 11 percent in agriculture and domestic, small and medium enterprises by the end of June 2023, 13 percent by June 2024, 14 percent by June 2025 and 15 percent by June 2026. In the case of hydropower, 6 percent must be invested by June 2023, 7 percent by June 2024, 8 percent by June 2025 and 10 percent by June 2026.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Among the priority sectors, the investment of banks in agriculture is more than specified, but the condition of investment in domestic, small and medium enterprises is rather weak. According to NRB, commercial banks have invested 13.09 percent of the total loans in agriculture by mid-January 2023. Agriculture Development Bank has invested 28.35 percent in the agriculture sector. Other banks have invested 11 to 19.95 percent of the total loans in this sector.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Banks have invested 6.29 percent in the hydropower sector till mid-January 2023. In hydropower, Sanima Bank has the highest investment of 9.96 percent and NIC Asia has the lowest investment of only 1.47 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The weakest investment of banks is in micro, domestic, small and medium enterprises. Commercial banks should invest 11 percent in this sector by next June, but they have invested only 9.51 percent as of mid-January 2023.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Former President of Nepal Bankers Association, Bhuvan Kumar Dahal says that even if banks invest in agriculture and hydropower as directed by NRB, it will be difficult for them to invest in small and medium enterprises. He suggested that instead of forcing big banks to invest in micro, domestic, small and medium enterprises, it would be appropriate to make them do it through microfinance, development banks and finance companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As the banks were unable to invest as specified, NRB pushed the deadline by 1 year last year. NRB revised the integrated directive last winter and moved the deadline for investment in priority areas from the end of June 2025 to the end of June 2026.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NRB spokesperson Dr. Gunakar Bhatta says that due to the Covid-19 pandemic and lack of liquidity, banks could not expand their credit, so the deadline for credit investment in priority areas has been postponed by one year. According to him, the banks that do not invest within the specified time will have to pay fines according to the rules.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Section 81 of Nepal Rastra Bank Act, 2058, if the loan is not disbursed within the specified period or if the disbursement is less than the minimum amount, there is a provision to penalize the banks.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-07', 'modified' => '2023-03-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16937', 'image' => '20230307023011_Banks - Copy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-07 14:28:45', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17197', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'All-Woman Pilots Conduct First Int’l Flight in History of NAC', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 7: Two female pilots of Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) operated an international flight for the first time in history of the state-owned airlines company.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 7: Two female pilots of Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) operated an international flight for the first time in history of the state-owned airlines company. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">NAC’s Spokesperson Archana Khadka told New Business Age that Captain Bhawana Pant and Co-pilot Sriana Raut conducted the flight from Kathmandu to Dubai on Saturday night. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“This is the first time in the history of Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) that two female pilots have flown an international flight. We have previous record of female pilots conducting domestic flights but this is the first international flight and a new record,” Khadka shared.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Captain Pant commanded an Airbus A-320 aircraft from Kathmandu to Dubai at 11 pm on Saturday night. They will return on Wednesday on the occasion of the International Women’s Day.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Captain Pant has been associated with Nepal's aviation sector for the past 25 years. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The NAC has four female pilots who operate narrow-body aircraft and one female pilot capable of flying a wide-body aircraft.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-07', 'modified' => '2023-03-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16936', 'image' => '20230307115003_334607839_627698252224640_1990973481596409263_n.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-07 11:49:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17198', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Sugarcane Farmers Submit Memo to Government ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 7: Seven years have elapsed since the local sugarcane farmers of Kapilvastu have waged a struggle to recover their dues from the defaulting sugar mills.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 7: Seven years have elapsed since the local sugarcane farmers of Kapilvastu have waged a struggle to recover their dues from the defaulting sugar mills. During this period, farmers have repeatedly submitted memorandum and staged protests to put pressure on the government to address their demands. However, their demand have not been addressed as of today. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On Monday, the agitating farmers handed over a memorandum to the government through the Area Administration Office Chandrauta demanding payment of the due amount.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The farmers said that they put forth the demand after the sugar mills failed to make the payment as per the decision of the government in the fiscal year 2071/72. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government fixes the sugarcane price every year but the local businesspersons do not pay price to the farmers, said Kapilvastu Farmers Association’s Chairperson Anup Kumar Chaudhary, urging the government to pay attention to this situation. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In the memorandum, the farmers have included 10 separate demands, including arrangement of irrigation, waiver in customs duty for the purchase of tractors and establishment of sugar mill. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-07', 'modified' => '2023-03-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16935', 'image' => '20230307123524_sugarcane.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-07 12:34:38', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17196', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Depositors in Trouble after Cooperative Shuts its Services ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 7: The customers of Tulsipur-based Shiva Shikar Multi-Purpose Cooperatives have been badly affected after the cooperative closed its services. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 7: The customers of Tulsipur-based Shiva Shikar Multi-Purpose Cooperatives have been badly affected after the cooperative closed its services. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">With the closure of the cooperatives for a month, the depositors are forced to return empty handed. Tulsi Nepali, a fruit trader from BP Chowk, who had deposited Rs 127,000 in the cooperative, is now regretting over the decision to save his money. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"It has been almost a month. Although employees of the cooperative say they will open the office, they have not. It has been difficult to pay the loan," he shared his plight. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, Chandra Kali BK is another customer to deposit Rs 60,000 in the Shiva Shikar Cooperatives. She visited the office many times to withdraw her money, but in vain. "Nobody is present in the office. When they are contacted over phone, they say they will pay by coming July," she explained. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">She had planned to undergo medication with the saving, but now it is not certain when she will get her money back from the cooperative. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, Ashok Bhandari, who runs a fancy clothes shop in Tulsipur, informed that he had also deposited some amount of money in the cooperative. He reached the cooperative office many times, but returned empty handed.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Although it was a small amount (Rs 6,000), I had to toil for earning it. Now, I'm facing monetary problems," he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to him, the cooperative runs a mart, but the mart is not willing to adjust the purchase he made from his savings.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The cooperative had issued a notice on February 10 that it would close its services until another notice on the pretext that it was unable to pay back the depositors due to economic recession. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-07', 'modified' => '2023-03-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16934', 'image' => '20230307105235_cooperative problematic.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-07 10:51:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17195', 'article_category_id' => '277', 'title' => 'Honey Processing Industry Come into Operation ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' A honey Processing Industry has come into operation at Shivsatakshi Municipality, Jhapa. Female bee keepers have set up the honey processing plant for the first time in the district.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">March 7: A honey Processing Industry has come into operation at Shivsatakshi Municipality, Jhapa. Female bee keepers have set up the honey processing plant for the first time in the district.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Satashi Women Bee Keeping Association, Sahara Nepal and Hokse Agriculture Cooperative have jointly established Sahara Satakshi Women Bee Honey Industry at the cost of Rs 12.5 million, according to industry’s Coordinator Devi Kumari Oli Dahal.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Coordinator Dahal informed that the plant was processing more than 10,000 metric tons of honey in a year. A farming is being done for the commercial production of the honey in Satakshi Municipality. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Since honey is being processed with modern machine, we don’t have the problem for its marketing, said farmer Dhanmaya Pathak. Seven females are employed at the plant in the first phase. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Locals of Shivsatakshi-11 have kept beehives ranging from 10 to 250 on average as ward No 11 has been declared bee keeping block area. More than 300 women have been doing bee keeping commercially and have been producing more than 60 tons of honey at Shivsatakshi-11 annually. </span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-07', 'modified' => '2023-03-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16933', 'image' => '20230307065100_collage (17).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-07 06:42:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17194', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Holi Gradually Taking Decent Colour ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 6: Holi, the festival of colours, has started to be celebrated in a more decent way in recent years.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 6: Holi, the festival of colours, has started to be celebrated in a more decent way in recent years. Until some years back, young women would stop venturing out in the streets of Kathmandu nearly a week before the festival as they were often the targets of some unruly youths hurling balloons filled with coloured water. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Unsuspecting women walking on the street were hurled with water from roof tops. Some rowdy revelers even went to the extent of smearing colours on the faces of other people against their will. Reports of pedestrians being thrown dirty water, being smeared with black paint etc were also frequent. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It was unsafe for them to go out during the festival. The women who went out for some urgent work used to come home drenched. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">But this uncivilized trend is becoming a thing of the past. But still there are some people who resort to these kinds of aberrant practices in the name of celebrating the festival of colours. Nepal Police have said such elements would be brought to book. Police said so far they have not received any complaint of people throwing water or water-filled balloons and smearing colour powder on anyone against their will. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">However, groups of people especially youths, could be seen celebrating the festival amongst their friends and families in decent way. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">This year the festival is observed in the hill and mountainous districts today while it will be celebrated in the Tarai-Madhes districts tomorrow. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Basantapur sees festivity since morning </span></strong><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">People had gathered at Basantapur Durbar Square in Kathmandu since today morning for the traditional Holi celebrations. A ritualistic wooden pole with tufts of colourful strips of cloths known as 'chir' on its top end that was installed in the Basantapur Durbar Square a week back heralding the start of the Phagu (Holi) festival is to be pulled down tonight. It is taken to Tundikhel amidst the playing of folk musical instruments and burnt. The ashes of the 'chir' are considered as talisman and people scramble for getting hold of the ashes. They put tika mark of this ash on their forehead in the belief that it drives away evil and protects from bad omen. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">27K security personnel mobilised </span></strong><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal Police has said 27,000 police personnel have been mobilised throughout the country for maintaining law and order during the Holi festival this year. This number is apart from those personnel mobilised for regular peace keeping, said Deputy Inspector General Poshraj Pokharel, the spokesman for the Nepal Police. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to him, no untoward incidents have been reported in course of the festival throughout the country so far today. Security has been beefed up in the big cities across the country, including Kathmandu. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Police are conducting checking at more than 66 places, apart from the places of regular security checks, in the federal capital. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-06', 'modified' => '2023-03-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16932', 'image' => '20230306065344_1678092822.332510066_1600877007053479_2283640620397237771_n.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-06 18:52:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17193', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Rural Electrification Campaign Gathers Momentum in Tanahun', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => '', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">March 6: The rural electrification campaign has gathered momentum in different places of Tanahun district where the substations for power supply are being constructed. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The substations are being built with support from the Tanahun hydropower project for the electrification drive. Managing Director of Tanahun hydropower project Kiran Kumar Shrestha said the construction of substations has been completed in Ghiring Rural Municipality-4 and Bandipur Rural Municipality-6.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">After the construction of the substations, power supply is ensured in Bhimad Municipality, Ghiring Rural Municipality and Rising Rural Municipality in Tanahun, and some parts of Nawalparasi (Bardaghat Susta Purba).</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">With the completion of substations, the officials claimed that reliable and quality power supply is guaranteed to the consumers. Managing Director Shrestha shared that the entire job of rural electrification would be completed in the upcoming fiscal year.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Nepal Electricity Authority Authority (NEA) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have funded the construction of Tanahun Hydropower project.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The Tanahun rural electrification and distribution system strengthening project had signed a contract with the East India Industry and Waiba Infratech JV for the rural electrification purpose. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"> </span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-06', 'modified' => '2023-03-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16931', 'image' => '20230306063753_collage (16).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-06 18:34:44', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
| Currency | Unit |
Buy | Sell |
| U.S. Dollar | 1 | 121.23 | 121.83 |
| European Euro | 1 | 131.65 | 132.31 |
| UK Pound Sterling | 1 | 142.47 | 143.18 |
| Swiss Franc | 1 | 124.29 | 124.90 |
| Australian Dollar | 1 | 71.69 | 72.05 |
| Canadian Dollar | 1 | 83.90 | 84.32 |
| Japanese Yen | 10 | 10.94 | 11.00 |
| Chinese Yuan | 1 | 17.17 | 17.26 |
| Saudi Arabian Riyal | 1 | 32.27 | 32.43 |
| UAE Dirham | 1 | 33.01 | 33.17 |
| Malaysian Ringgit | 1 | 27.36 | 27.50 |
| South Korean Won | 100 | 9.77 | 9.82 |
Update: 2020-03-25 | Source: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB)
| Fine Gold | 1 tola | 77000.00 |
| Tejabi Gold | 1 tola | 76700.00 |
| Silver | 1 tola | 720.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
Source: Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association
| Petrol | 1 Liter | 106.00 |
| Diesel | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| Kerosene | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| LP Gas | 1 Cylinder | 1375.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
